How Do You Say No To a Dying Man?
by Obsessiveangel
Summary: "You and I may be strong enough to recover faster than normal humans but we're not immortal. An incurable disease is still an incurable disease. We're not immune." What would you do when you find out that the enemy that you had been trying to kill all your life was already dying?
1. Revelation

"Stay in bed," Boomer snapped, pushing his brother back down.

Brick scowled and crossed his arms. Boomer knew that he was being unfair on his older brother but it was for the best. Butch and him were still yet to tell their leader about his condition. To be honest, they didn't even know how to tell him. How were they supposed to break the truth out to him?

"I'll make you some soup today, alright? Butch said he's gonna get some new games for you so you just stay in bed," Boomer said.

"I'm fine. I can get out of bed you know," Brick snapped but the hoarseness of his voice told Boomer otherwise. His brother was not alright. He was never going to be alright ever again.

"Brick, just promise me you'll stay in bed," Boomer sighed. "Please?"

The redhead fixed him with a hostile glare. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"

"Brick, please. Just stay in bed. The doctor said it'll help with your recovery."

"It'll help if I know what was wrong with me in the first place!" Brick flared up. The moment he yelled, he winced and clutched his head.

"Brick, trust me for once, okay?" Boomer said. He passed a bottle of pills to Brick and Brick took a pair of pills out without objecting. Boomer watched as Brick threw the pills into his mouth and took the bottle of water from his bedside table.

"Booms, are you ready?" Butch poked his head into the room and looked at his blonde brother. Boomer nodded.

"Stay in bed," Boomer instructed as he started walking out of the room. Brick glared at him before he flopped back down on the bed, pulling his covers over him and turning away from his brother. Boomer sighed, knowing that his brother was pissed off but he much rather have Brick sulking over being treated like a baby instead of the fact that he was dying.

Boomer and Butch flew out of their apartment and towards their respective destinations. Both of them just had one thing in mind, and that was to make their brother's last few days memorable and happy. The doctor had said that Brick only had a year left for him, and that was about two months ago. All Brick had was about ten months left.

As Boomer picked up all their groceries from the minimart, his mind was just blank. Lately, he barely had anything on his mind. All he thought about was Brick and the fact that in a year's time, Brick would most probably be gone and all that was left of the Rowdyruff Boys would be him and Butch. Crimes and fighting the Powerpuffs aside, the two of them had never lived without Brick. How were they going to survive?

Boomer hugged the paper bags close to his chest and he floated out of the minimart. He could hear shouting and screaming in the distance, accompanied by some crashing and roaring.

Oh, some monster was most probably attacking the town.

Boomer saw a flash of dark green in the sky and he sped up, catching up with his green brother. Butch glanced behind and slowed down to a stop, floating. In his hands, he held two game cases.

"Need help with that, bro?" Butch asked.

"Nah, I'm fine," Boomer replied.

As the two of them floated slowly towards their apartment, three streaks flashed past them- one pink, one sky blue and one lime green. Butch and Boomer flashed each other with annoyed looks before they simply continued forward.

However, it seemed as if the girls were headed towards the same destination as them. Arriving within a few meters from their apartment, Boomer found himself nearing to a stop, dropping the bags he held in his hands. Butch stilled beside him as well, gasping.

Right in front of their apartment complex, there was a huge purple gloop, in a heated battle against the Powerpuffs. The two boys watched as Buttercup sent her fist flying towards it. The gloop hardened and swung its arm but Blossom managed to grab it and flip it over.

"No!" Butch yelled as the monster crashed against their complex, smashing some bits of the building. Boomer wondered if it had been evacuated already but he knew that Brick had never bothered about evacuating due to a monster attack. In his mind, he still felt that he was well.

Boomer zoomed off towards the building, flying under the monster's arm and through the crumbling windows. Their apartment was falling apart and Boomer and to jump out of his way a couple of times to avoid the ceiling from crushing him. He ran to Brick's room.

Brick was on the floor, on all fours and trying to get up. There was a trail of blood flowing out of his head and down to his jaw. Boomer felt his heart tightened. Brick's head was the last thing that was supposed to get hit. He flew forward and grabbed his brother, just in time to avoid a piece of rubble that came crashing down. He lifted Brick up in his arms and flew out of the window at top speed, joining Butch by his side.

"Brick!" Butch gasped. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" the redhead snapped, holding his head on one side as he leaned against Boomer's chest. "I managed to eyebeam the stuff that was falling. A small piece hit me on the head."

Butch looked at the monster, that the girls seemed to be having a hard time fighting against and clenched his fists. "You fucker!" he yelled, charging at the monster. Boomer watched in silence as Butch zoomed past the girls, leaving them in confusion, and started punching the hardened gloop like there was no tomorrow. He raised his hands into the sky, morphing a huge fireball in his hands.

Boomer wanted to stay and watch but he felt Brick squirm in his arms. He glanced down at his older brother. Brick was frowning, his hand falling to his stomach.

"Boomer, I feel sick," he admitted. "I think I'm going to..." He trailed off, most probably in embarrassment. Boomer flew down to an alley and helped Brick onto his feet. Brick staggered slightly, placing his hand on the wall to steady himself. Butch flew down and landed beside Brick. He was drenched in purple goo, some of them even dripping off his hair. For a second, Boomer wanted to throw up as well.

"Brick, if you have to throw up, just do," Butch advised.

Brick glared at him from the corner of his eyes, the anger and authority in them making Boomer forget for a moment that Brick was sick.

"I'm not sick," he hissed. "I'm entirely fine." He stood up straight, trying to conceal his failing strength, though his trembling body betrayed his weakness.

"No you're not fine!" Butch yelled. "You don't know anything! You're not fine." Boomer's eyes widened at that and he elbowed Butch at his side.

Brick glared at both of them and stamped his foot childishly. "Of course I don't know anything! You guys never tell me anything, not even about _myself_!"

"Stop being such a baby!" Butch yelled.

"Butch, calm down," Boomer murmured, just for the ears of his younger brother. "Remember what the doctor said? It messes with his brain."

"But... He's getting annoying," Butch whined.

"Stop whispering to yourself! Stop hiding stuff from me! I'm your older brother, for fuck's sake!" Brick snapped.

"Maybe you should stop hiding in alleys first." Boomer looked up and he saw three familiar faces, floating downwards.

"Girls!" Butch gasped. "Back off!"

"Not so fast," Blossom huffed, crossing her arms. "What are the three of you up to?"

"Yeah! You don't just go beating up my prey and running to hide," Buttercup scoffed.

As the girls floated to land, Boomer felt Brick push past him and Butch to take his position between the two of them. He stood up straighter, sliding his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and he stared at the girls.

"We'll continue this conversation later. Right now, it's time to kick butt," Brick chuckled darkly, nodding towards the three girls. Butch and Boomer exchanged worried glances. They had been warned that if Brick were to get into a fight, especially with the girls, his condition could worsen.

"I don't think it's our butt that's going to be kicked," Blossom huffed, taking a few steps forward. Brick narrowed his eyes and took two steps forward.

"Well, give it your best shot, Blossy," he snapped.

Boomer's eyes widened as Blossom raised her fist, pulling it backwards to punch Brick with all her might. Brick grinned, waiting for the punch.

"No!" Boomer cried out and jumped forward, together with Butch. Both of them ended up pushing Blossom all the way across the street and to the alley at the other side.

"Stop!" Butch yelled as the two of them pushed her against the wall. "You can't hit him!"

"Let me go!" Blossom huffed, trying to push herself off but obviously, both Boomer and Butch managed to overpower her.

"No! If we do, you'll hurt Brick!" Boomer snapped.

"What else do you expect me to do? He's Brick!"

"Not hurt him?" Boomer suggested. "Please, we can't let him fight, especially not you or your sisters!"

"Let me go!" Blossom yelled.

"Blossom!"

Boomer turned his head at the new voice, giving Blossom an opening to attack. She eyebeamed him, pushing him a distance off, before punching Butch in the face. As the boys scrambled to get back on their feet, Blossom floated to join her sister.

"Where's Buttercup?" she asked.

"Fighting Brick," Bubbles replied. "We'll deal with these two."

"Wait, you mean _Buttercup_ is fighting Brick?!" Butch gasped. He glanced at Boomer and the blonde nodded. Without a glance at the two girls, both boys immediately flew off. Butch headed staring for Buttercup, pushing her onto the ground, as Boomer flew to Brick. Brick was kneeling at the end of the alley, coughing continuously.

"Brick!" Boomer gasped, running to his brother's side. Brick continued coughing into his hands for a while before he cooled down. He looked up at Boomer with weak eyes and removed his hands. Boomer gasped and grabbed his brother's wrist, his eyes flying wide open at the red stain on his palms.

"B-Blood...?" Boomer gasped.

Brick pulled his hand away. "I'm fine..." he mumbled. "I'm fine."

Butch had joined them and was staring at Brick in disbelief as well. At Brick's words, he snapped out of his daze and growled.

"Get him to the hospital, Booms."

"No!" Brick cried out. "I said I'm fine."

"No you're not, you ass! You're dying! You're anything but fine!" Butch yelled, obviously pissed off by the turn of events. "You're not supposed to fight!"

Brick remained silent, as if Butch's words were registering in his mind. He looked up at his two brothers. "I'm not going to die from this, sheesh."

Boomer gulped and shook his head. He picked up his brother and started floating off. Brick tried to struggle but in his weakened state, his movements barely even fazed Boomer.

"I'm taking you to the hospital," Boomer snapped. As Butch started to follow, he heard his name being called. He glanced at the girls and then at Boomer, before gesturing him to go on first.

* * *

><p>"What can I do for you girls?" Butch asked as he landed in front of the three girls. Being alone with them was a risky move but he didn't want the girls slowing Boomer down.<p>

"What's going on?" Blossom asked. "I think you owe us an explanation."

Honestly, Butch didn't feel like he did. It was their business after all. The girls didn't matter. But he did know that if he tried to resist, the girls may use force on him.

"It was about two months ago," Butch murmured. "We were just messing about at home and suddenly Brick started throwing up badly. Then, he just collapsed. We brought him to the hospital and... And they said..." Butch felt a lump rise in his throat and he took a deep breath.

"What?" Buttercup murmured. "It can't be that bad. He's a Rowdyruff."

Butch remained silent. He had never admitted it to anyone. Heck, even Boomer and him never mentioned Brick's condition. Perhaps it soothed them in a way that by not saying it out, they could convince themselves that everything was fine and that their older brother was not dying. It wasn't easy as Brick's failing health was a constant reminder of his limited time but at least it was something. Never mentioning his condition out loud served as a comforting means for the two younger Rowdyruffs.

But there he was, stuck in a situation where he had to say it out.

"You and I may be strong enough to recover faster than normal humans but we're not immortal. An incurable disease is still an incurable disease. We're not immune," Butch said.

"Disease? Does he have AIDS?" Buttercup asked. "He seems like the type." Blossom glared at her sister and the younger girl backed down, mumbling a meek apology.

Butch took a deep breath. "Brain cancer... Stage four."

He watched as the Powerpuff's eyes went wide in disbelief. Buttercup gasped, slapping her hands above her mouth.

"Oh no. I just hit a sick person!" she gasped. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! If it's worth anything, I didn't know! He punched first, though it was weak... And here I was wondering why Blossom had such a hard time with such a weak person when in actual fact he was a dying person."

"Buttercup!" Blossom scolded.

Butch swallowed at Buttercup's words, the revelation to the girls crashing him once again. Saying it did make him feel worse. It felt just as bad as when he just found out about it. But he remembered Brick's smiling face when Boomer and him walked into the hospital ward. It was then they realized that there was no way they could ever break the news to him. Fuck everything. The truth would crush Brick. If there was one thing Butch never wanted to see in his life, it would be his older brother crying and depressed.

"Butch... How long does Brick have?" Bubbles asked, snapping him out of his memories. Butch realized that his eyes were watering and he immediately wiped his eyes roughly. He would never cry in front of the girls. If Brick was here, he wouldn't want Butch acting so weak in front of their mortal enemies. Yeah, since Brick was dying- especially since Brick was dying- he had to remain strong.

"They said a year as long as he stays at home and not get into fights," Butch replied.

"Oh no," Buttercup gasped again. "But... Butch! Please, let me come with you to the hospital. I want to make sure he's alright!"

"You're a Powerpuff," he snapped. "Back off."

"Just because we're Powerpuffs doesn't mean we're heartless to our enemies, Butch. Buttercup was wrong to attack Brick when he's ill. We're coming with you," Blossom said calmly.

Butch didn't want to waste his time arguing with them. He wanted to get to Brick and fast. Without another word, he started flying towards the hospital, with the girls right behind him.

Apparently, Brick was undergoing a few tests and it was about two hours before the doctor managed to get back to them about his condition. As the doctor closed the door to Brick's room, Butch and Boomer rushed up to him, with the girls staying a distance off.

"It's worse than we thought," the doctor explained. "The cancer has spread to his lungs... I'm sorry but he doesn't have much time left."

"No way," Butch rasped.

"Please, doctor! Can't you do anything about it?" Boomer pleaded. "I know we're evil and I know that you hate us but we'll do anything for Brick. We can be good. We can turn ourselves in. We'll do anything! Please save Brick!" Tears was streaming down the blonde boy's face and even the doctor was momentarily stunned from the public display of emotions coming from the blue Ruff. Boomer dropped to his knees, his hands clutched together. "Please. I'm _begging_ you. Help me. Don't take my brother away from me."

"Hey, kid, listen, this has nothing to do with your background!" the doctor insisted. "We tried our best. His condition is as such. We can't do anything."

Buttercup flew over. "Come on, doc. Please, help them. If it's the cost, then don't worry about it. I beat Brick up. I'm the reason he got worse."

The doctor sighed. "Look, all of you, his condition worsening has nothing to do with him being beaten up. From the last time we had checked him, the cancer has spread. It has infected his lungs and the most part of his brain... He doesn't have long."

"How much time?" Blossom asked.

"I give him... Three months," the doctor said solemnly, "at _most_."

"Three months at most?!" Butch cried out, grabbing the doctor's collar. "But you said a year the last time."

"He got worse," the doctor sighed. "It was out of anyone's control."

Butch let go off the doctor, pushing him backwards a little. He cursed and crossed his arms. Boomer stayed down, his shoulders slumped and head hung low.

"Is there really nothing we can do?" Bubbles asked.

"Just support him," the doctor said. "Even you girls. If you want to help, it would help if you guys give up your relation as mortal enemies. He's dying... It's not recommended to be surrounded by negative emotions during these three months. It might help him live longer, though this is just a theory that's yet to be proven."

"Can we go see him?" Butch asked.

"Yeah sure. Now if you'd excuse me, I have other patients to attend to."

As the doctor shuffled away, Butch pulled Boomer up to his feet and the two boys opened the door to Brick's room. Brick was sitting up in bed and the moment he saw them, his eyes narrowed. Leaving the girls outside, the boys closed the door and walked to their brother's bed. Boomer pulled a chair up and sat by Brick's bedside while Butch sat on the bed.

"You're crying, Booms. What's wrong with me?" Brick asked. Butch and Boomer glanced at each other hesitantly but remained silent. Their older brother groaned. He sat upright, pulling his knees close to his chest. "Still not going to tell me anything?" Brick murmured. "Something's wrong with me, right? I couldn't even use my superhearing to hear what the doctor said outside."

Butch hesitated, turning to look at Boomer. Boomer shook his head. "We have to tell him, Butch..." Butch found himself agreeing.

"Brick," he said, reaching forward and taking his brother's hand. Brick raised his eyes in confusion at the action but remained silent, listening. "You... You're ill... Very ill... So ill that you only have..." Butch stopped and looked at Boomer.

He couldn't do it. He really didn't want to break Brick at all.

"I know I'm ill, idiots," Brick snapped. He looked at his two brothers and his eyes softened. His tightened his fingers around Butch's hand. "I already know I'm dying... Tell me, how much longer do I have? Two years? Three years? Please, tell me..."

"Three months," Boomer said softly. "You have cancer, Brick... Stage four brain cancer and it has spread to your lungs."

Butch watched as Boomer's voice cracked and Brick's eyes went wide. He could feel his brother tremble slightly from the revelation.

"But... I'm seventeen... I'm only seventeen... I should have my whole life ahead of me!" Brick gasped. "I can't have cancer... That too, brain cancer! I... Three months? You've got to be kidding..."

"Brick," Butch called out, sighing. Brick turned to look at him. His red eyes were wide and watery. For the first time in two months, Butch realized that the cancer had actually affected Brick much more than he thought. Brick's skin was no longer tanned, but deathly pale and he almost looked like a vampire. He didn't look anything like the dashing Brick Butch had grown up with.

Brick stared at him with such wide eyes that for a moment, Butch felt like the older brother.

"I... I should go to sleep," Brick said, his voice cracking and betraying all his emotions. He looked away from his brothers, pulling his hand away from Butch.

"It's okay, Brick," Boomer murmured, standing up.

"What's okay? I'm dying," Brick chuckled lifelessly.

"It's okay to cry... I know you want to so just let it out." Brick blinked at Boomer's words as Boomer reached out and pulled Brick close to him, wrapping his arms around Brick's trembling frame. Butch sat there, watching, as the shocked expression on Brick's face morphed into annoyance and then sadness. Brick closed his eyes as Boomer pulled him closer, resting his chin on his older brother's head. His lips quivered and tears trickled down his face.

"I don't want to die..." Brick sobbed. "How can I leave you guys?" Butch remained still as Boomer's tears reappeared as he tightened his hold around their trembling leader. "Why me? Is this karma?"

Butch moved forward, wrapping his arms around both his brothers as he knelt in front of Brick. "Karma's a bitch," he muttered, resting his head on Brick's shoulder. "Karma's a fucking bitch, trying to split us."

"I'm sorry," Brick cried. "I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm sorry for being so bossy and overbearing. I love you guys. Please, forgive me."

"Shut up," Butch snapped, pulling himself closer. "I don't care. There must be something we can do."

But as he held the crying Brick close, he knew that no matter what, in three months, there would only be two of them left.

* * *

><p>Since there was nothing the doctor's could do about Brick, they had him discharged after three days. It was one of Brick's better days so he could walk properly without stumbling. Although it was a short while, rumors of the Rowdyruff leader's illness had spread. And so, the three boys were greeted with a wide spread of paparazzi and new reporters.<p>

"Brick Jojo! Brick Jojo! A word please," one of them ran up to him, shoving a mic towards him. Brick took a step back in surprise before he scowled.

"Back off," he snapped.

"Is it true that you're going to die? Is this the end of the Rowdyruffs?" the paparazzi continued. Brick looked around and saw that his brothers were being approached as well. It was getting crowded and really noisy and his head started to pound.

"What happens when you die? I don't think your brothers will be able to fight off the Powerpuffs alone," another one said.

"What are you going to do these three months? Are you going to pull off something and go with a bang?"

"Are you going to lay low?"

"How did this happen? What exactly is wrong with you?"

Brick snarled as his head started throbbing even more as he started feeling more and more claustrophobic. It was hurting a lot and he wanted to rip stuff apart. He grabbed the nearest paparazzi and raised his fist, ready to punch the guy in the face.

"You wanna know what's wrong with me? Let me tell you what's wrong with me," he yelled. "I have twenty times the number of cancer cells than you do but let me tell you this, it ain't stopping me from beating you up till you have one hundred times less red blood cells than I do."

He was aware of screams breaking out around him as people tried to wrench him of the now cowering paparazzi. Brick might have been weak and dying but on his better days, his strength was still more than enough for him to overpower a normal person. In his grip, the paparazzi felt so small and weak that he could break him into half like he was a toothpick.

Honestly, Brick had no intention to punch the poor guy in the face. He might have been a scheming villain but there was no way he was going to pick on someone who was weaker then him. Just as he was about to let the guy go, he felt a hard impact on the back of his head. His head immediately burst into blinding pain. He let out a cry, briefly aware of his hands flying to his head and him falling to his knees. He felt someone give him a swift kick to his side and it took quite a lot of his strength to keep himself from falling.

"Brick! Everyone back off before we kill you all!" Brick wasn't sure if Boomer or Butch said that but guessing from the words, it had to be Butch.

"Alright everyone, calm down!" This time, the voice was a girl's and Brick recognized it as his counterpart's. "Everyone clear out," she continued. "Good citizens, don't pick on a dying guy."

Brick scowled but still, he was partly grateful for the crowd clearing out. Trying to put his throbbing head aside and swallowing to push his lunch down his throat as it rose up, he opened his eyes. The brightness of the afternoon sun blinded him for a moment, making his nausea worse and it took him a while to focus on the faces staring down at him.

Boomer and Butch.

"Brick, are you okay?" Butch asked. "Do you need to go back to the hospital?"

"I'm fine," Brick grumbled, hating it whenever his brothers fussed over him. Sure, he was dying but he didn't want his younger brothers to worry. Heck, for all his life, he had been the one worrying about the two of them.

Brick got up to his feet, brushing his brothers aside, and glared at the girls who were calmly directing the paparazzi away from the three of them. Brick watched them, still scowling, as the remaining few left. The girls then flew to them.

"Everything okay?" Blossom asked, looking at Brick. He saw worry and concern in his eyes and he wanted to punch her in the face. He didn't need her pity. He didn't need anyone's pity, especially not hers.

"Come on boys, let's go," he snapped, disregarding her. Brick started walking away. He would have loved to fly but he knew that the cancer was affecting his powers. As much as he wanted to get away from the girls as fast as possible, he wasn't so keen on falling.

He had to walk.

* * *

><p><strong>This idea came into my head when I was working on this hospital scene for my other story (that'll be up soon) and I got a little distracted. This isn't going to be a long story. It might be a two shot or maybe a little longer than that. Idk. Depends on how stuff go. <strong>

**Anyway, do review :D**


	2. Their Beginning

Blossom flew over her part of town, with a grin. There seemed to be no traces of any crime. The night was as quiet and as peaceful as ever. She stopped midair and took in a deep breath. The fresh smell of the night air filled her nostrils and she let off a sigh. How she loved a calm night.

Still, she had to get home.

As Blossom contemplated on whether she should take the long way back through the park, a figure in the distance caught her eye. She squinted her eyes and she immediately recognized the person.

Wearing a red leather jacket, a pair of maroon jeans and his signature red cap, Brick was standing on the top of a building, looking down. Blossom's eyes widened. She hadn't seen her evil counterpart in a month, ever since she found out about his condition, and she didn't expect him to succumb to depression so quickly. But there he was, standing on top of a building, obviously ready to jump.

Or maybe she was thinking too much. Brick was a fighter. He would never give up. Then again, one of the symptoms of brain cancer included a change in personality. Blossom floated closer to him, curious as to what he was possibly up to on top of a building.

Blossom watched as Brick closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He seemed to be focusing really hard but Blossom had no idea on what. He opened his eyes again and cursed under his breath. He lifted his foot, placing it off the building and in the air. He took a deep breath and the next thing she knew, he had thrown himself off the building. As he fell, his eyes opened wide in panic for a moment before he shut them again.

"Brick!" Blossom gasped and she zoomed forward. She caught him by his waist, pulling him upwards into the sky. She felt Brick's arms wrap around her shoulders, pulling him close to her. He stared downwards, his eyes wide open as he breathed hard.

Brick was scared and Blossom came to the conclusion that he was up to something other than dying.

"B-Blossom? What are you doing here?" he asked, staring at her with such wide eyes that for a moment, he seemed so innocent that she forgot he was her most hated enemy.

"I'm on patrol. What are _you_ doing?" she snapped. "Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

Brick looked down, his mouth curving downwards. Blossom didn't have to ask to know that something was very wrong. She stayed still, waiting till Brick was comfortable enough to admit what he was up to. The doctor had said that support was what Brick needed during his last three months. Even if he was an enemy, Blossom didn't want him to leave the world unhappy. No matter who it was, everyone deserves to be happy, especially if he was dying.

"I wanted to fly," he murmured finally. "I just want to be able to fly by myself again."

"Can't you?" Blossom questioned.

"No... Apparently, I can't... Not anymore." Blossom felt Brick's fingers dig into her pink hoodie as his breathing hitched. "They don't let me out of the house. They don't let me fly and use my powers. I want to fly, Blossom. I want to fly." He looked up at her and Blossom could see tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.

"Did you lose your powers?"

Brick shook his head adamantly. "No. They're still there. I just can't control them. If I fly, I'd suddenly fall. If I use my eyebeam, my aiming's off. Sometimes I can barely lift a table but other times I can punch a hole through the wall. It messes with my head..." he complained. He bit his lip and sighed. "It does other stuff too... Like my memory loss. Sometimes, I forgot my name or my brothers. Sometimes I forget that I even am dying and I get all cheerful. Then the memories come back and it's like my whole world crashes right in front of my eyes, like I'm experiencing the first time I learnt of my ailment all over again."

"What about your health?"

"Depends. Some days I can help out around the house, since the two of them don't let me leave, but other days, I can barely sit up in bed. My coughs are bloody. My puke has tinges of blood in it as well. My head aches every ten minutes and sometimes, I just collapse," Brick said, looking away again. "My brothers are asleep now so I realized that it was my only chance to get out. I snuck out and up this building. I just wanted to fly."

Blossom realized the logic behind it. It made sense that all Brick he wanted to do was to fly and prove his independence. He was, after all, the leader of the Ruffs. At the same time, she had to admit that it was a stupid idea.

"And what if you fall to your death?" she asked, her voice coming out a little harsher than she intended it to. Brick winced at her tone, refusing to meet her eye.

"It doesn't matter... I'm going to die anyway."

Blossom couldn't help the anger that was bubbling up in her and she let out a sigh. Brick looked up at her, blinking in confusion. "Of course it matters, dimwit! You only have three-"

"Two," Brick corrected.

"You only have two months left to live! Hasn't it occurred to you that this also means that the people around you have only two months left with you? Think about Boomer and Butch. I'm sure they want to make the most out of your limited time. If you just kill yourself, how selfish are you acting? Don't you care about your brothers at all?"

"I do!" Brick insisted. A stray tear trickled down his face and he wiped it off quickly. "But wouldn't it be easier for them if I died now?"

"Physically, perhaps, but psychologically, no way. They already have to deal with the fact that you're dying. Having to take care of you is the only thing that's keeping them from snapping into depression right now. They have to remain strong for you. If you kill yourself, how do you think they'd react?" Brick blinked guiltily and tightened his hold around her. Blossom continued, "They'd most probably think that they weren't taking care of you well enough. They'd blame themselves for not being able to make their dying older brother happy in the last few moments of his life. Do you want them to live with that feeling or do you want to go off with a smile and leave them with the satisfaction of knowing that their brother died happily?"

Brick's lips quivered for a moment before he rested his forehead on her shoulder. "I hate this, Blossom... I hate this."

"I'm here as well," she murmured. "I don't want you dying unhappy, even if you are an enemy."

Brick looked at her in surprise. The two remained silent as they stared at each other, red eyes meeting pink ones. Blossom realized that she had never actually taken a proper look at Brick before, even though he was her counterpart. His skin was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. But at the same time, his eyes were still shining and deep. Blossom realized that he was breaking out into a slight smile and she could see the beginnings of a pair of dimples on his cheeks. His auburn hair had been cut shorter than usual and it stuck out a little from the back of his cap. Blossom tried to imagine him healthier, with tanned skin and no sunken cheeks. She came to a conclusion she had always known but never appreciated.

Brick was hot.

She had to admit that even with his vampire-white skin and half his weight gone, he was still good looking.

Her eyes lingered over to his lips. His lips were a little dry and cracked but they were still pink and somewhat healthy. Blossom found herself leaning forward, as did he.

Her eyes closed as she felt their lips meet. Brick pushed himself hard against her and Blossom's arms tightened around his waist. She felt his weight lessen in her arms and before she had a time to ponder over his power's sudden appearance, his hand wandered over to her hair, tugging it a little to make her gasp slightly. Brick deepened the kiss even more, the feel of his lips getting more desperate and rough. In all her life, Blossom had never imagined herself enjoying a kiss from Brick. Sure she had kissed Brick more than all the other guys she mixed with combined (ahem, to destroy him) but she never exactly _loved_ doing it. Kissing was fun, sure, but all along, she thought it was more fun with someone who was not Brick. Kissing Brick had all along been an obligation for her. It was something she did to destroy him and protect Townsville.

But not now. Now, she was relishing every single aspect of it, from the way he pushed his lips against her to the way his hands pulled her closer like she was his lifeline. Perhaps, she was his lifeline.

And in a moment that could have been a blink of an eye or a couple of centuries, he pulled away, gasping for breath. Blossom had to remind herself that she needed to give him a moment to catch his breath and that if she was to pin her lips against him again, his damaged lungs wouldn't be able to take it and she could end up suffocating him.

"What was that...?" she whispered.

Brick shook his head. "I dunno... But I like it..." He turned his head downwards sheepishly from his confession and Blossom marveled at how he could move from being hot to cute in just a matter of seconds. Blossom found herself smiling at how Brick- the hotheaded, overbearing leader of the Rowdyruffs- was actually feeling shy in front of _her_.

"I like it too, you know," Blossom admitted. "Much better than when we were five."

Brick turned to her with a toothy grin. Blossom realized that even with his cancer, his teeth was still white and perfect. Though, why wouldn't they be?

"When we were five, your kiss blew me up... Actually it did today as well, but in a very different way," he whispered. Blossom found herself blushing a little. Who knew Brick had the potential to be so smooth?

Cancer, must be the cancer.

Brick was getting heavier in her arms again and Blossom realized that his powers were fading off again. "I'll fly you home," she said, tightening her hold around him as she started towards the direction of the boys' new apartment. Although they hadn't met much, Blossom had made it a point to ensure that she was well-versed in the dwellings of all the villains in Townsville, including the Rowdyruffs. It would come in handy but she never thought she'd ever end up flying Brick home after kissing him under the moonlight.

She arrived at his apartment and Brick pointed towards his room's window. Blossom floated over, partly relieved that the other two Ruffs seemed not to notice her. As Blossom held him in both her hands, Brick pushed open the window and he climbed in slowly and quietly, mimicking a thief so well that Blossom wondered if he had ever robbed a house before. She discarded the idea immediately. Even if he did, he didn't have to climb in anything. He could just fly.

Once Brick was inside, Blossom was ready to turn and fly off, only for Brick to grab her wrist and pull her back. She floated over to his window and looked at him questioningly. Brick reached over, kissing her again as he let his arms snake around her, pulling her close. Blossom felt the world fade off around her, leaving her only with the feeling of his lips and hands on her. He pulled her closer to him and into his room. Blossom was vaguely aware of him reaching to shut the window before wrapping both his arms around her waist, and pulling her close to him, all the while not separating their lips. Blossom pressed herself against him. Her hands travelled to his head, grabbing his cap off him and dropping it on the floor before her fingers tangled in his red strands.

Blossom took a few steps back- no, make that a lot of steps- until she felt herself hit something and she fell backwards. She opened her eyes wide, bracing herself for the impact of the fall, only to find herself falling onto the comfort of the duvet on his bed. She didn't have much time to think it through before Brick climbed over her and started kissing her again. He placed a hand beside her head to steady himself while the other initially rested against her hips before he started moving them upwards. He pulled his lips away from her as he fingered the zipper of her hoodie.

"May I?" he whispered against her lips, almost pleadingly.

Blossom felt her superhero instincts scream at her to push him off and fly off. Dying or not, he was still a criminal. But without her even realizing, she was nodding her head, reaching out to pull his head down to let their lips meet again. Brick pulled her zipper down and Blossom arched her back to let him pull her hoodie off her, leaving her in her pink tank. Her arms pushed his jacket off him and it fell onto the floor noiselessly. Blossom grabbed the hem of his black t-shirt, tugging it until he broke apart from her lips to pull it off and throw it aside.

Blossom reached out and pressed her palm against his hard chest, trailing it down to his stomach and to his left hipbone, that was apparent due to his lack of meat. Brick's body wasn't well-muscled and toned but it was pretty taut. Brick looked down at his body and his mouth curved downwards a little.

"My health isn't the only thing that the cancer stole from me," he whispered. "Trust me, I was a lot more sexier before all this." He looked up at her and flashed her a boyish grin, the playful glint in his eyes making it seem as if for that brief moment, she was with the old Brick- the healthy one who always managed to get under her skin, the rival she always fought against and the only boy whom she grew up with. With a pang, she realized that she had been through so much with him and in just a matter of time, he would cease to exist. She didn't realize how attached she had actually gotten to him over the years and if she had to be honest, when she thought over, she had actually enjoyed fighting the boys. They were the only ones who actually posed a fight and stood a chance against the Powerpuffs.

With Brick gone, it would mean the end of the Rowdyruffs. Blossom knew that there was no way Boomer and Butch could stand a chance against the three of them. Manpower aside, Brick was their leader and mastermind. He was the glue that held the boys together. She wondered what awaited the two younger brothers following his death.

And if Boomer and Butch decided to continue their life in crime, how would her life end up without her counterpart?

"Do you want this, Blossom?" he whispered against her skin. Blossom hadn't realized that he had moved to kiss her neck, nor has she realized that his thumb had hooked themselves on the waistband of her jeans. Again, something in her nagged at her to leave but even without her command, her head nodded slowly. Brick pulled her in for another mind-blowing kiss, his fingers moving over to the button of her jeans. Blossom closed her eyes slowly, letting the moment lead her actions rather than logic and reason.

Afterwards, the two redheads lay motionless on the bed for a moment. Brick was curled up, leaning his head against Blossom's chest. Blossom allowed herself to take a long took down at him before resting her chin on his head with a sigh. The ailment had taken so much from him. He barely had any stamina and he was reduced to a weak and fragile boy. Blossom played with some strands of his red hair as she thought through what she should do next. She contemplated leaving to return home but there was a part of her that wanted to stay with him.

Brick shivered slightly and Blossom reached over to pull the duvet over the both of them. "Will you be here when I wake up?" he asked softly. "_If_ I wake up?" He looked up at her, his eyes half-closed from the sleepiness that was clogging his mind.

Blossom wanted to tell him that she was about to leave but as she stared at his eyes, she couldn't help but wonder.

Just how do you say no to a dying man?

Sighing, Blossom nodded her head. Brick smiled weakly and closed his eyes. Blossom untangled herself from Brick's grasp. Ignoring his whine of protest, she sat up at the edge of his bed and rummaged through the discarded clothes on the floor. She was aware of Brick sitting up and calling her name and she held a hand out to ask him to wait. She finally found her jeans and she slid her hand into her pocket. Her fingers wound around the squared device and she pulled it out.

She wasted no time in dialing a number she knew so well and placing the phone against her ear. She glanced at Brick as she listened to the tone that rang in her ears. He was sitting up, his weight supported by one hand, while he rubbed an eye hard with the other. The ringing in her phone came to an end.

"Hello?" her sister's voice sounded on the other end.

"Hey, BC, I'm not coming home tonight," Blossom said. "I'm not in trouble. Don't worry."

It didn't take long for her sister to figure out roughly what was going on. After all, Buttercup had her fair share of nights away from home as well.

"Alright," she sang on the other end. "But I expect a whole story on what happened when you get back. Plus, tell that lucky guy how lucky he is to get my bookworm of a sister in bed."

"Goodnight, asshole," Blossom chuckled.

"Nights!"

With that, Blossom hung up and placed the phone on the bedside table. A bunch of glass bottles on the top caught her eye and she frowned.

"Brick, have you taken your medicine?" she asked, turning to face him.

Brick nodded, yawning, as she slipped under the duvet and pulled him to lie down beside her. He snuggled up to her again, his arms winding around her tighter than before.

"But it's not like those medicine will make a difference though," he grumbled.

Blossom sighed at his words and shook her head, letting her eyelids close.

"Blossom?"

"Yes, Brick?"

"Since I can't blow stuff up and fight you these two months, can we be friends?" he asked. Blossom opened her eyes and looked at him. He was still looking at her the same way he had done earlier on. Blossom knew that she couldn't just give up on him as an enemy so easily. It wasn't because of his acts that made them what they were. It was also because of his heart. He was corrupted by evil. She was protected by good. They could never be friends. But as she looked at his face, she had to admit.

There was no way she could deny a dying man.

"Of course, Brick," she said softly. "Now go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up, only if you promise to wake up tomorrow."

Brick closed his eyes and nuzzled against her. "Promise," he whispered.

Blossom waited until his breathing settled into a steady rhythm and his face smoothened out. Only when she was very sure that he was asleep, did she let herself sleep as well.

When Blossom woke up, she found herself pressed against Brick's burning body. She smiled slightly as she sat up, stretching and yawning. Brick might have been running a fever but that meant that he was alive and that was all that mattered. She pulled the duvet up and held it to her chest as she sat there and stared at him sleeping. His face looked peaceful in his sleep and he was breathing rather normally. Just from that, she couldn't tell that he was dying. He looked like a pretty ordinary seventeen year old.

The sound of the door opening made her look up. Boomer poked his head in and he blinked at the sight of her.

"You're still here?" he asked.

Boomer's words made her frown. "How'd you know I was here in the first place?"

"Honestly, I was awake when Brick left the house last night. I wanted to call him back in but I felt that he needed his space since he was getting pretty depressed."

"He almost killed himself!" Blossom cried out.

"Relax," Boomer chuckled. "I was going to fly and catch him but you beat me to it. I wanted to snatch him from you but when I saw him kiss you, I figured he would be okay with you."

"Oh," Blossom said. She looked down at the sleeping Brick and back to his blonde brother standing by the door. Boomer flashed her a smile.

"I made some pancakes. Do you want some?" Boomer asked. Blossom nodded and the blue Ruff slid out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Blossom knew she had to wash up before she ate. She looked around Brick's room and realized just how red it was. She thought back to her pink room and smiled. It has to be a Powerpuff-Rowdyruff thing. Even Buttercup's and Bubbles' rooms were infested with their own colors as well. Blossom reached over and pulled Brick's t-shirt on. She gathered her clothes and walked over to the door at the far end of his room. Since Boomer had came in from the other door and Brick already had a wardrobe near his window, it meant that that door would probably lead to the bathroom. Blossom opened it and peeked it, grinning as she realized she was right.

Blossom walked over to the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was in a mess, with her ribbon almost falling off. She undid the ribbon and placed it on the countertop. She didn't see a comb anywhere (thinking back, Brick's hair had always been unkempt so she doubt that he even owned one) so she made do with her fingers. She ran the slender digits through her hair, smoothening out the tangles. She stared at herself in the mirror. Brick's tee was a little too big for her and it actually made her look a little petite.

She had to admit that she was pretty hot despite being a nerd. That would probably explain Brick's sudden lust for her the previous night.

Blossom took a quick shower. She found an unopened toothbrush packet and used the toothbrush to brush her teeth. As she dried herself off with Brick's towel, she couldn't help but realize that she smelled like him after using his shampoo and her mouth tasted just like his minty toothpaste. She reddened slightly as she pulled on her clothes from yesterday. Since it was a little stuffy, she opted to tie her hoodie around her waist rather than pull it on.

Blossom walked out of the bathroom with his towel still in her hands as she dried her hair. Brick had already woken up and was sitting in bed, leaning against the wall. His eyes flickered over to her as she approached and he grinned.

"You _are_ here," he said.

"I promised you I wouldn't leave, didn't I?" Blossom sighed as she sat on the edge of his bed. "How're you feeling?"

"A little shitty," Brick admitted. "But when you're dying, even a little bad seems amazing." Brick looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes and he reached over to pull her in for a kiss. Blossom didn't resist his advance. In fact, she welcomed it by climbing onto his lap and letting her hand run through his wild hair. She could feel Brick smile against her lips and she found herself smiling as well.

"I have to go though," Blossom admitted as she pulled away. "I can't stay here."

She saw a change in Brick eyes- something that made him look pained and crestfallen. "Now?" he asked, pulling her close to him and pushing his face against her neck, reveling in the comfort he found in her company and touch.

"Well, I was thinking after breakfast. Boomer's pancakes smell good," she admitted.

Brick chucked, his warm breath tickling her and making her giggle. "Trust me, they smell only half as good as they taste. All the more reason to stay," he said. He remained silent for a while, hugging her tighter. "You'll come visit me again, right?"

And just how was she supposed to say no?

Blossom nodded and Brick released her. He smiled weakly as her and ran his hand through his hair.

"I must be such a burden," he sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, well, I really should be getting to my other story but I just wanted to complete this. Heh. <strong>


	3. The Start of the End

Brick died about a month after that night, not even managing to touch his expected third month of life. Within that one month Blossom spent with him, she saw him through the ups and downs of his ailment. At times, he would be really welcoming but other times, he would just mope in bed, ignoring everyone. But most of the days, he appreciated her presence around him.

Buttercup and Bubbles tagged along to the Ruff's house a couple of times as well. As time went on, their visit got more frequent as well. Aside from checking on Brick, they hung out with their counterparts as well. Bubbles helped Boomer out in the kitchen, coming up with different, yet amazingly delicious dishes. Buttercup and Butch would head to the court below and shoot hoops. Sometimes, Brick would sit by the living room window and watch the two greens play. Blossom could tell from his expression that he very much wanted to join them but his overprotective younger brothers never let him out of the house.

"Once upon a time, I would have trashed both of them," Brick once scoffed as Buttercup scored a goal.

Blossom just sat by him, knowing that for some strange reason, Brick seemed to enjoy her company even if she wasn't saying or doing anything.

"What about you?" he asked her. "Do you play?"

"Only in gym class but as a superhero, naturally I'd play well," Blossom replied. She moved beside him and pressed her palms against the glass, looking down at the two greens. "Not as good as them though."

Brick laughed, only to wince after that. He sighed and turned away, leaning against the window and sliding down till he was seated on the ground.

"Perfect... I can't even laugh," he muttered, rubbing his temples.

Blossom's smile faltered as she was reminded once again that Brick was dying.

During the short time she spent with him, she had grown fond of him and she actually enjoyed his company. On his extremely better days, he reverted partly to his old self even, just without the immense hatred for the Powerpuffs. Since Brick was not physically-able, their fights were just limited to battles of wit and petty arguments, lacking of ill intent towards each other- something that their siblings seemed to enjoy watching when they were around.

When night fell, Blossom would lie in bed with him, knowing that he felt comfort only when there was someone- her especially- lying beside him. Sex wasn't a daily thing for them. In fact, it was a rarity, but it was still there. Blossom would lie with him and sometimes, she would fly off only after he fell asleep. Initially, he minded her leaving but after a few days, he got over it. She came back everyday anyway.

It didn't matter to Blossom, no matter how tiresome it was to visit him everyday. But it was the summer break and she had nothing to do aside from fighting monsters, so why not? When she first told her sisters about her visits and brought them along, they had been defensive and suspicious as they sat in the Ruffs' house. But as time went on, they eased themselves and got along with the boys as well.

It was a wonder, how such a depressing situation ended up burying their animosity and made way for something warm to bloom.

Brick's last day was something that Blossom knew she would never forget. On that day, he showed no signs of it being his last at all. It turned out to be one of his better days. In fact, it seemed much better as for the three days prior to it, Brick was so weak that he couldn't get out of bed, not even to use the toilet or grab something to eat. For those three days, he stayed in bed, crying and groaning in pain, begging for someone to make the pain stop. But on his last day, he seemed much better and everyone else actually believed that he was going to live for a few more days, or weeks even.

The six decided to watch a movie together. After a long, heated argument, where furniture was thrown and blood was almost shed, they came to the decision to cuddle up in the living room couch and binge watch all _The Scary Movie_ movies that Butch owned on DVD. The greens sat on the floor, legs crossed, as they fought over the bowl of popcorn, their eyes glued on the screen. The remaining four sat on the couch, watching as well.

Blossom leaned her head on Brick's shoulder after a long internal debate. For a moment, she found herself regretting her decision to do so as Brick remained still. But after a short while, he rested his head against hers and his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her close.

"Are you having fun?" he murmured, eyes still fixed on the screen. Blossom nodded and Brick chuckled softly, though Blossom was unsure if it was because of her or the movie.

"Guys, we should take a picture," Bubbles said a few hours later as Butch was changing the DVDs in the player.

"Yeah we never took one before," Boomer agreed.

Bubbles hopped up to her feet and moved to her bag. She rummaged through it before pulling out a square-ish white camera. "That's why it's good that I brought my polaroid camera!" she giggled. "We can take six different ones. One for the each of us to keep!"

"Oh, come on," Butch groaned, exchanging looks of slight annoyance with Buttercup.

"That would be a waste of film," Buttercup added.

"Don't be a spoilsport," Boomer snapped. "It's just a photo. You can carry it about in your wallet."

"Shut up. I'd rather carry a corpse."

"Just do it, Butch," Brick sighed. "Memories, ya' know?"

Blossom didn't know if it was because of Brick's authority over the other two boys or because he was dying but Butch obliged, scowling. As the six of them gathered around the camera, Bubbles raised her hands out, holding the camera in her hands as she began clicking.

In the midst of one of the photos, Blossom felt Brick pull her in for a kiss and she turned bright red. Brick and her had kissed countless times but they never did in front of their siblings and here he was, doing it right as Bubbles took a photo. Blossom didn't know if she could get any more embarrassed.

"I call dibs on that one," Brick said as Bubbles laid that photo out to dry.

By the time they were done with everything, it was night, way past their bedtime. Brick fixed her with a pleading look and Blossom decided that she would stay the night. She waved farewell to her sisters before she joined him in his room.

Brick was smiling.

She would never forget that sight. It had been engraved too deep into her mind.

She climbed onto bed with him and kissed his cheeks, right above his dimples. Brick twirled a strand of her hair around his fingers as he looked at her, his smile widening. Blossom knew he had something on his mind but what it was, she never knew and she never would know. The night was filled with kisses, cuddles and a lot of giggles and chuckles. Brick showed no traces of pain or weakness throughout and honestly, she really forgot about his cancer.

Blossom couldn't help but wonder. Was the Brick she knew now the same as the Brick she had known all along? If they weren't mortal enemies, would that have been the way he would treat her? Was this Brick the real Brick under that mask of coolness and authority he had all along?

One thing that stuck out about that particular night was that he held her. Normally, Brick would enter into a cycle of self-loathing and depression every night and Blossom would hold him close till he fell asleep. However, that night, Brick pulled her close to him, letting her lean against his chest as he held her tightly around the waist and rested his chin on the top of her head. He didn't say anything. All he did was hold her.

She believed that she fell asleep before him.

When she woke up, it was already morning, with sunlight streaming in from the slight slits between the blinds. Something felt off, like there was something missing, but Blossom had no idea what. She threw her legs off the bed, pulling herself easily out of Brick's grasp and opened the blinds. She looked out. It looked like a normal, ordinary day and there was nothing running around the place, destroying everything in its wake. She had decided that if Brick was feeling fine, maybe she'd bring him outside for an hour. Boomer and Butch could come along if they wanted to. She'd call her sisters as well.

Blossom got a little excited from the thought and she almost skipped to the bed. Something was really missing but she didn't know what. Shrugging the nagging thought off, she got into bed.

"Hey, Brick, wake up!" she called. "Let's go out."

Brick's eyes remained closed, with no movement whatsoever in response to her call. Blossom frowned slightly at the sight of his bluish lips and she touched him hesitantly, before shaking him hard. His body was stiff and cool to touch and although her mind was blank, Blossom could feel tears threatening to spill.

"Brick? Brick? Come on, it's time to wake up. It's morning," she said, smiling weakly. "Hey, let's go to the park, okay? I know you want to go out."

No response.

She flipped him to lie on his back and his arm flew back, hitting the bed and sprawling out limply. Something in her screamed at her to check for a pulse or to press her ears against his chest but she held back, just staring at him. She stared at him and realized that she couldn't see a rise and fall in his chest.

No, that couldn't be right.

"Brickie? Brickkkk, wake up!" she snapped, shaking him. Her tears were falling freely, blinding her momentarily until she wiped her eyes with her arm. His lips aside, everything looked normal. His face was still, as if in a peaceful slumber. The red strands of his bangs fell softly against his eyelids and Blossom reached over to push them out of his eyes. She rested her palm against his cheek.

He was so cold.

Her mind wandered over to the first time she had spent the night with him and woke up to find that he was running a fever. He was burning hot back then. Perhaps he wasn't feeling well again.

"Do you need medicine?" she asked, her voice cracking on top of being as loud as a whisper. "Just… Open your eyes…"

He didn't. He didn't move at all.

Blossom felt a slight anger in her. "Do you think this is funny? Is this your idea of a joke?" she squeaked, shaking him again. It _had_ to be a joke! Brick still had a month.

_Three months at most._

No, he didn't have one more month. He would only have it if he was lucky but Brick wasn't lucky. If he was lucky, he'd never have gotten that dreaded disease in the first place.

At that thought, the gears in her mind started to turn and reality started to fill her mind. She finally listened to the screaming voice in her head. Without a word, she pressed two fingers against his neck. No pulse. She moved the finger under his nose. No breath. She leaned forward and pressed her ear against his chest. No heartbeat.

No wonder something seemed to be missing. There was no trace of life in Brick at all.

Blossom sucked in her breath and she started shaking him again, this time harder and more desperately. She wanted to call out to me but when she opened her mouth, she felt something clog her throat.

Brick didn't respond. He was never going to respond.

She forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat. "Boomer! Butch!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, still shaking him hard.

She could hear his brothers fumble in their room and walk towards Brick's and she felt a tinge of annoyance at the slowness of their movements. Probably, like her, they didn't expect anything to happen to Brick after he seemed so well the previous day.

"What is it?" she heard Butch's annoyed, sleepy voice and her head snapped up to look at the two boys who were walking into the room. Blossom wanted to say something, she wanted to scream at the two brothers but her voice caught in her throat.

"Brick?" Boomer gasped as he rushed over, with Butch following behind quietly. Boomer climbed on the bed as well, shaking his brother and muttering and crying incoherently. Blossom saw the tears start to flow out of the blue Ruff's eyes.

"Brick is dead," she finally managed, though it was only a whisper. Still, Boomer and Butch clearly heard her. Boomer let out a choking scream, his fists bunched into his older brother's red t-shirt, and he slumped against Brick's cold body. A distance away, Butch dropped to his knees, his eyes wide and jaws hanging open. He didn't move. He didn't say anything. All he did was stare at his two brothers.

Blossom was somewhat caught in the middle. She was crying. Tears were streaming down her face. But she couldn't say anything or cry out as much as she wanted to. Brick's death came as a shock. Wasn't it just the previous night that he was smiling at her? How could he depart just like that?

How the fuck did he just die overnight?

* * *

><p>Brick's funeral was arranged to be on the next day.<p>

Dressed in a plain black dress that fell to her knees, Blossom curled up on her bed, holding the picture of all six of them in her hands. The one she had chosen- no, the one Brick had chosen for her- was in a mess. Boomer was pulling on Bubbles' pigtails and the blonde girl had her eyes closed, giggling along with him. Beside them, Buttercup and Butch were making faces that were honestly stupid and ugly. Behind the four of them, the two leaders were much calmer. Blossom was smiling, her hand out in a simple peace sign. Brick had an arm around her. He wasn't looking at the camera. Instead, he was looking at her. Blossom had been staring at that picture for quite some time but she hadn't actually figured out his expression.

His face spoke of a thousand emotions, more than she had ever seen on his face before. She could see the pain that he had been trying to conceal and Blossom knew that it wasn't just physical pain. She saw sadness. But she also saw joy, pure unadulterated joy…

There was something much deeper in his eyes but what it was, she didn't know.

She heard a knock on the door. "Bloss? Hey, we're late," she heard Buttercup call out from outside. "We have to go… It's time for the burial."

Blossom stayed where she was. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to seem him, all cold and dead. She especially didn't want to seem him in a black box, getting lowered six feet under.

Blossom's door flew open and Buttercup floated in, her arms crossed. She grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her up to her feet. Blossom obeyed silently. Her mind was blank and she was confused as to why her mind was even blank in the first place. Brick was an enemy. His death wasn't supposed to upset her to that extent.

But then again, after spending so much time with him, could she really still think of him as an enemy?

Blossom followed her sisters as they headed on to the cemetery. The place was filled with all the different villains of Townsville. HIM and Mojo had their arms around each other, bawling over the death of their eldest 'son'. Princess Morbucks was crying as well, sitting on the chair with hundreds of her bodyguards surrounding her, consoling her and passing her tissues after tissues. Blossom remembered vaguely that she had a major crush on Brick.

What kind of disgusted Blossom was the fact that no one made an effort to speak to Boomer and Butch. Boomer was still crying as hard as he was when they just found out about Brick's death. Butch was holding him close. No one approached them to offer condolences. Everyone stood a distance from them, eyeing the two boys. With her superhearing, she even managed to pick up their conversations.

"Great, the only chance _anyone_ had against defeating the girls is gone."

Really? Was that all that mattered to them?

"Well, they're villains after all," she heard Bubbles murmured. Blossom turned to her sisters and saw her disgust reflected in them. Buttercup had her fists clenched as she shot murderous looks at everyone.

"The Powerpuff Girls?! What are you doing here?" Ace gasped, pointing an ugly green finger at them.

"Are you here to mock and gloat over the death of your greatest enemy?" Sedusa scowled. "Sorry to burst your bubble, you didn't defeat him."

"It was a lucky victory and you know it," HIM hissed.

"GO!" Fuzzy roared.

"This is only for people that mattered to him!" Princess huffed, wiping her tears and fixing the three girls with withering looks.

"Shut up!" Butch yelled. He flew over to the girls and flashed them a weak smile before turning to the rest. "Only people that mattered, huh? In all of Brick's life, the only people that mattered to him were his brothers and the girls. The rest of you can fuck off for all I care." He started flying back to Boomer and the three girls followed after him, ignoring the dirty looks the other villains were flashing them. Boomer looked at the girls and he wiped his tears roughly, forcing himself to smile.

"H-Hey g-g-girls… I'm glad you came…" he whispered.

"Yeah," Butch agreed. "Brick would be happy too."

"No worries," Buttercup replied. "Even though it was a short while, Brick was a cool friend."

Boomer wiped his face with his sleeve. "I'm sorry for looking like a wreck, really. I'm not like Butch… I'm not strong enough to hide my emotions," he sobbed.

Blossom looked at Butch's face. His eyes were red and puffy and she recalled that his voice was hoarse when he spoke earlier on. He was crying, though most probably in secret. Blossom noted that it was just like Butch to put up a strong front, even when he was dying on the inside, just like how Brick was.

"Sorry we didn't come earlier," Bubbles sighed. "Bloss was… She needed some time alone." Bubbles flashed Blossom a look and Blossom nodded weakly.

"Sorry…" she mumbled.

"It's alright," Boomer murmured. He reached into his suit and pulled out a white envelope, passing it to her. "A few days ago, Brick passed this to me. He asked me to pass it to you when the time came."

Blossom took the envelope silently and opened it. Inside, there was a piece of folded paper as well as a small piece of red metal- a thumbdrive. Blossom opened the paper.

_Blossom, if you're reading this, it would mean that I am already dead. I don't know how long it was since I prepared this but all I hope is that when you receive this, nothing has changed between us. Inside the thumbdrive, there are two videos. The first one, although it was addressed to you when I created it, I want you to watch it with everyone else. Perhaps, I could say it has my dying wish in it. The other one, the one with me and a guitar as it's thumbnail, it's entirely for your eyes. Though if you are to watch it with my brothers and your sisters, it won't really matter since I'm dead anyway. But, well, I believe that if you feel the same way as I do, you'd want that to be a little private. Trust me, it's personal. Brick._

"Boomer, I need a laptop," Blossom said flatly as she finished reading the letter. Boomer blinked and he looked around the place. Blossom wanted to slap her forehead. Right, where was she going to find a laptop in a cemetery?

Butch floated up and looked around. "Hey, everyone!" he called out. "Anyone got a laptop to spare?"

Buzzing started among all the villains of Townsville before Princess raised her hand. "Oh! I do! It's under the seat of my limo!" she quipped. One of her men walked over to the long white limo that was parked a distance away and returned soon after with a silver laptop. Butch flew over and took it from him, before flying back to the girls and Boomer. He placed it on the ground and the five of them crowded around it, with Blossom in the middle.

Blossom inserted the thumbdrive into the laptop and opened it. As Brick had said in the letter, there were two videos and one of it seemed to show him holding a guitar.

"If I remember correctly, Brick was a pretty decent guitarist," Boomer admitted softly.

Blossom was well aware of the other villains crowding around as well but she paid no heed to them. She clicked on the video and played it. Brick's face came on and he was smiling widely.

"_Hey… I'm guessing this is on," he said, tapping the screen with a slight laugh that was accompanied by a deep wince. He sighed and leaned back into the chair he was sitting on, running his hand through his hair. "Right, so… I dunno when you're going to see this but well, it's most probably going to be after I'm dead." He blinked at the camera and smiled sheepishly. _

"_Ah, this is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be," he sighed. "You see, I'm alone at home now and I filmed farewell messages to my baby brothers already so now it's just you… I'm guessing you're probably wondering 'Why me?' and to be honest, so am I. Why you?_

"_You see, Bloss, something's different… Between us… Between our own teams as well. I mean, just look around. Boomer and Bubbles look cute together, don't they? Butch and Buttercup might be a little tougher but they're great together as well… Yeah our siblings look great together."_

_And suddenly he grinned playfully. He looked up at the camera- looked up at her- and his eyes narrowed mischievously._

Blossom figured that Brick must have filmed it on one of his much much better days, just like his final day. Her hand ached to reach out to him all of a sudden and she realized that what she really wanted was for him to be there in person, to say it all to her in person rather than through a screen.

"_Wanna play matchmaker?" he continued. "Well, you're going to have to do it because I'm dead. Yeah, take that as my dying wish. If you can and you agree with me, why don't you try and get our baby siblings patched up, eh? Kinda a good idea, don't you think?"_

"You asshole…" Butch chuckled beside Blossom and she turned to look at the green Ruff. A stray tear was trickling down his cheek. Blossom turned back to the video.

_Brick had gone silent and he was looking down at his hands. His hair fell forward, hiding his face. "I want to play matchmaker between us as well," he murmured. "If our siblings look good together, won't we too? There's something between us, right? I mean, it's been there since the night you saved me from killing myself."_

Somewhere behind them, Blossom heard a gasp and she figured it was Princess. She ignored it and continued watching.

_He looked up again and smiled. Tears were falling out of his eyes._ Blossom wanted to reach out and wipe them off his face but she knew she couldn't. Brick wasn't there. That was just a video. _Brick rubbed his hands together and sighed. _

"_Funny how you started being around me wanting to give me more happiness before I die. Well, you did that but do you know something? You also made me more depressed so fuck you," he laughed, trying his best not to wince. "I'm more depressed now actually. I really don't want to die. Do you know why?"_

Blossom didn't even realize that she shook her head.

"_Because now I realize that there are more things that I'm going to leave behind when I die. There are more people around me than before… You asshole," Brick sighed, leaning back into his chair, smiling. "My brothers. Your sisters. You. Yeah… Blossom, you gave me something I never had. You gave me friends and now, when I die, I'm going to leave behind my family _and_ friends. Perfect."_

_Brick sat up straight, holding his finger out towards his camera. "No, that's not quite right… Bubbles and Buttercup are my friends, perhaps. I mean, on my part. I dunno how they feel," he said, shrugging. He opened his mouth to speak but he hesitated._

Blossom exchanged looks with her sisters and smiled, realizing that they felt the same way about him. She turned back to the video.

_He was still reluctant. But after some time, he sighed, his cheeks reddening. "But you, Blossom, you're different. I know that on our first night together, I asked you to be my friend and you hesitated but still agreed. To tell you the truth, I wanted to ask for much more but I'm afraid… I'm such a coward, which I also why I'm telling you this through a video rather than in person… The truth is, Blossy, I like you… A lot."_

Blossom gasped, slapping her hands on her mouth. _Brick looked like he was about to say more but he turned his head away and frowned. He looked back. "I'd like to say more but it looks like Boomer's back… I'll ask him to pass this video to you somehow… Yeah… Remember my wish, alright? Think our siblings could use a little push…" He winked before reaching over and everything froze._

"That bastard," Butch muttered. "Like I'd need help confessing if I liked anyone."

"But… Well… He's not entirely wrong," Boomer admitted, turning red. "I think we look good together and I think that he was right about you and him as well, Blossom…"

Blossom realized she was crying and she tried to wipe her eyes, only for more tears to come out. She snatched the thumbdrive out of the laptop and held it in her hands.

Brick liked her… He liked her…

"Why didn't he say anything?" she sobbed. "That… Idiot…"

"That's absurd!" Blossom heard someone exclaim. Princess. "How can Brick like _Blossom_? She's a Powerpuff."

"How can you boysss hang out with them and betray usss?" Snake hissed.

"That's right," HIM agreed. "You've betrayed us."

Blossom clenched her fist, more tears streaming out of her eyes. How could these people talk about Brick like that? Who were they to judge him? And even if they did, how could they say stuff like that about him at his funeral?

But before she could do anything about it, HIM was thrown against a tree at the far end of the place. Butch flew up, hovering above everyone's heads. He fixed the people below him with a hard glare, his fist clenched tightly till his knuckles were turning white.

"You guys get this straight," he snarled. "Brick never wanted anything to do with any villain in Townsville. But we were created by Mojo and HIM so we couldn't honestly do anything about that. As for the rest of you, fucking get this straight. We're not one of you. We're better than all of you, including our so-called fathers. Without Brick, Boomer and I are no match for the girls. But we can- and we will- beat your asses up."

"Butch, calm down. Brick wouldn't want you fighting at his funeral," Boomer sighed, joining his brother's side and trying to pull him down.

"I know, Booms, and that's why I haven't incinerated everyone here," Butch said. "Everyone, get this in your thick heads. The Rowdyruffs are over. We are done. We're done with crime and we're done with being on the same side as _you_. You disgust me! How dare you come here and talk about Brick this way?"

"Butch, please, calm down," Boomer begged.

As the two boys wrestled in the sky, Buttercup and Bubbles flew over to everyone else. Blossom remained behind, watching everything silently.

"Everyone, I think you should leave," Buttercup said. "No one knows an angry Butch better than I do and trust me when I say, you don't want him to punch you in the face when he's like this."

"We thank you for coming on behalf of the boys," Bubbles murmured.

Buzzing started out again but since the Powerpuff Girls asked them to and they didn't want to get beaten up, they started leaving one by one. Princess was the last to leave. She flashed Blossom a dirty look and enter her car, huffing and raising her head upwards as one of her men slammed the door shut. Blossom watched her limo leave.

Her anger was somewhat justified. Anyone would think that Brick would choose Princess over Blossom but there he was, admitting that he liked his biggest enemy.

"We should leave too," Bubbles said. "You'll be fine, right, Boomer?"

Boomer nodded and smiled weakly. "Yeah… I… I'll be fine," he sighed. His lip quivered as he smiled at her and Blossom knew that he would be anything but fine. Butch was still fuming as Buttercup stood beside him, rubbing circles around his back.

"I can't believe it. I knew they were evil but I didn't know that they were insensitive," Butch muttered. "How can they just say those stuff about him?"

"They're villains. They only care about themselves," Buttercup murmured in response.

"But we used to be villains as well… We'd never do that!" Butch insisted. "I mean… Someone died… And if I've to be honest, he's the best villain Townsville's ever had. "

"Well, maybe it's because you guys aren't as evil as you think you are. Perhaps, you have a heart," Bubbles replied, holding onto Boomer's hands. Blossom thought back to the past few days she had spent with the Rowdyruffs and she realized that she had to agree with Bubbles.

The boys weren't pure evil. Perhaps, they had just been led astray by the story behind their births.

Blossom glanced down at the thumbdrive in her hand. Brick had more stuff for her ears and she knew that she wanted to hear them badly.

"Guys… I'm going home."

* * *

><p><strong>:) <strong>

**That face was highly inappropriate, huh? So two chapters in one day. I'm on a roll. Honestly, this chapter was supposed to be the end but after typing out Brick's second video, it turned out to be much too long a chapter so I'm going to have to split. So there will be a chapter four, which brings me to another problem, more of a personal one actually. **

**Blame my OCD. Three is a nice number and so is five. I have no problems ending the story at a chapter three or a chapter five... But a chapter four? No way. But for people who really like this story, I guess it's good news eh? **

**And that's about it. I'll see you guys soon. **

**And yes, I'll continue with The Boys Are Back In Town Again the moment this is done. Seriously, this story was inspired by Brick's being in the hospital in that story... Haha...**

**Please do review :)**


	4. Consequences

When Blossom reached home, the first thing she did was to turn on her computer and watch the video Brick had made just for her. She was feeling something she had never felt before. She had to watch the video. She had to.

"_Hey," Brick said as the video started, his boyish grin plastered against his face. "Normally you'd be here by now but you're not so I'm guessing you're out fighting something… Well, I guess you'd tell me about it when you come… You always do._

"_I made up my mind last night. I have to tell you this… At the same time, I don't want to put whatever we may have between us on the line since it might get you pissed off if you found out… But before that, I have a little present for you."_

_Brick reached out and pulled something out- a guitar. He pulled it on his lap, holding it by the neck in one hand. "I wanted to write you a song and sing it to you but I couldn't think of anything… I swear, pre-cancer Brick would have been able to come up with an amazing one… But now, my head hurts just whenever I think… I'm sorry, I can't come up with something for you but I decided to cover something… You said you like Taylor Swift the other time… But no, there's no way I'm casting aside my masculine pride and singing one of her songs… So here's _Thinking Out Loud_ by Ed Sheeran."_

Blossom watched, with wide and disbelieving eyes. _Brick's cheeks reddened and he started strumming a familiar tune. His head nodded to the beat of the tune he was strumming as his fingers skillfully moved from one chord to the other, sliding over the guitar strings like figure skaters on ice. His blush faded off slowly and his smile evolved from one of embarrassment to one of passion. _

"_When your legs don't move like they used to before/ And I cant sweep you off your feet." _

As Brick started singing, Blossom went still. She knew that Brick was a guy of many talents- she'd seen them before- but she never expected him to be so musically inclined. He was a formidable fighter and a quick thinker. He knew his shit when it came to battle plans, though he played dirty a lot. He had his charms and he could be charismatic if he wanted to and she knew that had gotten him lucky in bed loads of time.

But music?

Never had she thought that he would be skilled in something so pure and lovely.

Blossom's eyes watered at the sight of her evil counterpart looking so innocent and talented, singing for her as he strummed on his guitar. She realized that she had actually noticed the guitar in the room but had never really thought much about it. She had thought he kept it to look cool. After all, carrying a guitar around could put him higher in the books of many girls.

_Brick's blush returned as he ended his final strum. He stared at his guitar for a while before he placed it aside. He looked up at the camera- at her- and grinned. _

"_How was it? Amazing, right? I guess you're most probably wallowing over how you should have married me since I'm so talented," Brick chuckled cockily._ Blossom giggled a little. Well, that was Brick alright.

"_Right, now down what I want to tell you… As you know, I'm cooped up at home since my ultra-protective lil' bros ain't letting me take a step outside. So I've been online a lot lately, which is kinda bad because staring at a computer screen gives me headaches but well, I have nothing else to do," he sighed. He scratched his cheek and put on a solemn face. "I saw this somewhere. Apparently it takes a woman about 15 days to fall in love and a man just 8.2 seconds. It's scientifically proven as well… I did some reading up on it but I can't help but find it all bull…_

"_But you know… It isn't entirely untrue even… Well, obviously, I'm not one who should be commenting on this. For God's sake, I'm evil and what does evil know about love? But lately, I dunno anymore… Because ever since I stared into a certain pair of pink eyes, I think I've fallen in love."_

Blossom felt her breath catch in her throat. She inched forward, towards the edge of her seat and nearer the computer screen. Could Brick really be saying what she thought he was saying?

"_I think I love you, Blossom…" he said softly. "But I dunno… I mean, are these feelings even mine? Are they real or are they a result of the cancer? Apparently, brain cancer can cause personality changes and all. There isn't much I can find about what I'm experiencing so I can only hypothesize from here on. I think my feelings are real. I want them to be real… I don't want them to be a result of my murderer messing me up. But what can I do? The brain controls the emotions and that's where my tumor is dominant… Well, there's that theory that the heart does play a part in our emotions and god do I wish that was true… Because my heart isn't tainted by anything. If my feelings came from there and not my brain, it would mean I really am in love with you. It would mean that I, Brick, love you and only you._

"_But I can't bring myself to tell you this. I've admitted earlier on that I do like you. Well, even a moron can tell that I've grown rather fond of you… But love? Well, that's a different story altogether…_

"_I'm sure you're fuming now, wondering why I didn't tell you this in person. Well the truth is, I'm scared. I'm scared that somewhere in there, you still detest me. Don't try to deny that you still question whether making me happy is even justified. I know you better than you think I do. I've studied you my whole life. I know you as well as I know Boomer and Butch, maybe even better. _

"_I was afraid you'd reject my feelings, Blossom, and when you do, whatever we have now- friendship, acquaintanceship, a mutual lust for each other, I dunno- will end. I'm not taking that risk when I have only a month or two left to live._

"_So that, accompanied by the fact that I'm not sure if my feelings are even genuine, would be why I didn't tell you anything. But I don't want to die without telling you at all… So… Yeah, that's to explain the birth of this video." Brick frowned and he leaned forward. "Do you love me?" _

Blossom opened her mouth slightly and closed it immediately. Her head was reeling. She knew that Brick liked her company. But she had never thought that he liked her. And love? Who was he kidding? He couldn't possibly be in love with her. He was a Rowdyruff.

Blossom's heart was palpitating in her chest and she realized that the video wasn't ending. Pushing her thoughts out of her head, she focused on the video. She would do her thinking later.

_Brick sat still for a long while before he leaned back with a sigh. Tears were flowing out of his eyes and he wiped them away roughly. "I swear, I've cried more these few weeks than I have in all my life," he said. "I wish I could know your answer, Bloss. I wish it's simple as me saying I'll be up there watching down on you so you can just give your answer." He laughed, pointing upwards, for a moment before he stopped and his hand dropped. "Face it. If there is a life after death and if it's as how the conventional churches and all dictate, I'd be down there. Hell is the place for me, not Heaven… And as much as Science seems really more believable than Religion when it comes to evolution and the big bang versus the Almighty and angels, I can't quite place my full faith in Science. I mean, for fuck's sake, my second dad's a goddamned demon."_

_Brick fell silent again, rubbing his head. "Bet you're a little surprised. Never expected Brick the Bludgeoner to think so much, eh? Fun-fact: I'm your counterpart, Ms Nerdy Bookworm."_

Brick was right, he did know her well. He knew her well enough to somewhat figure out how she would react to his words. It was as if the Brick in the video was having a conversation with her thoughts in her mind.

But it seemed he didn't know her enough. He couldn't figure out if she did love him back and if she was honest, she was a little confused as well.

"_God, I love you," he groaned, running his hand through his hair. "I swear, the feelings are killing me and if it wasn't metaphorical, I'd be dead by now. Fuck the cancer. It's crazy. I mean, I was made to kill you. But when I'm here dying, look who's at my side. Not my fathers who made me to destroy you, but the person whom I was made to destroy. _

"_Do you want to know how much I love you? I love you so much that if I somehow miraculously survive this and get cured, I'd give up evil… For you… Actually, no, I've already given up evil… Ah, well, I'd love to see the faces of Townsville villains if I came out and told the truth. Damn, that'd be hilarious."_

_Brick was trying to crack a joke and cheer himself up- it was obvious from the way he clenched his fists and forced himself to smile. But it was also obvious that it wasn't successful. The tears from his eyes continued falling out of his eyes, so much till he gave up wiping them entirely. _

"_I don't want to die," he whimpered. "Though I've died before… But this time, I know I won't be given another chance. I don't think anyone's going to revive me." He sat up and smirked. "Are you? I'll tell you how. Snips and snails and a puppy dog tail. Throw them in a toilet bowl and you'd get me… Well, you'd get three young boys hell bent on destroying the world…"_

_However, his jokes seemed to only make him feel worse. He pulled his legs up and hugged them to his chest. "I just want to be able to love you openly… But I'm too much of a coward to do so. So this is the next best thing. At least I can die knowing that sooner or later, you'd know my feelings and that you'd know that you efforts in spending time with me did make me happier, because it really did in some sense. _

"_And it taught me love… I love you, Blossom and if you do love me back, I want you to remember that even when I'm dead, I'll always be with you, in here." Brick placed his hand on his chest-above his heart- and closed his eyes, sighing. After a moment, he reached forward, his head hanging low and his face hidden by his hair. _

The video ended there and Blossom choked. Brick's final words rang in her ears. He loved her. He really did love her.

But Blossom was having a hard time coming into terms with that. Had she just imagined everything? Perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her, especially since it was in a mess after Brick died.

Blossom replayed the video a few times, pinching herself at random occasions. Everything was real. The video was real.

How could it be real? He was a Rowdyruff, for crying out loud. How could he love her? How could she love him? They were meant to hate. Falling in love with him would tear apart the fabric of reality.

But what was there to lose, really?

Blossom closed her eyes and leaned back into her chair with a whimper. She could feel her heart race as her breath caught in her throat. What was that strange feeling that was gnawing at her in her stomach? All she wanted to do was reach into the computer to touch him, to be with him.

"Blossom."

The voice was soft and soothing and Blossom's eyes flew open. It was his voice.

The video wasn't playing. She must have been imagining it.

"Blossom..."

A second time and it came from behind.

Blossom stood up and turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight, a loud gasp escaping from between her lips. He was standing there, in all his glory. Wearing his usual red leather jacket and maroon jeans with his cap turned backwards, he flashed her a cocky half-smirk, his head turned upwards haughtily. His red hair that fell to his shoulders was pulled into a short, low ponytail. His shoulders were broader, thrown backwards in pride and authority.

This was the Brick she had always known, the person he was before the cancer stroke him.

She walked over to him and reached out to touch his face. His skin was smooth and warm. Brick lowered his gaze to hers and his eyes softened. He placed his hand over hers, closing his eyes as he pushed his face harder against her hand, savoring the feel of her palms on him.

"Brick... I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," he whispered, hushing her. "I'm here now."

The absurdity of the situation didn't register in her mind. All she knew was that he was there and that was all that mattered. She jumped into his arms, pulling him in for a deep kiss. His lips weren't dried and cracked anymore. They were softer than ever and much more kissable. Blossom groaned into the kiss as she felt his hands ran up the length of her back and to her face, cupping it as he pulled away, just enough to separate their lips but still close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her.

Oh, his breath.

"I love you, Blossom. I really do," he said softly. Blossom could hear an ache in his voice, his desperation clouding his eyes as he spoke. She pulled him in for a much deeper kiss that sent both their minds reeling as the world faded off to nothingness.

He stumbled back until his back hit the circular window of her room. His knees buckled under the influence of the kiss and he slid down, till he was sitting and she was on his lap.

"Blossom..." he groaned in her ear. "I'm in love with you..."

Suddenly, whatever had been confusing her earlier on didn't matter anymore. All she knew was that she wanted this. She wanted him.

"I'm in love with you too, Brick," she whispered.

The joy that flashed across his face made her heart ache for more. She wanted him. She wanted him so badly. Their animosity didn't matter anymore. All she knew was the love that she felt between them. She could feel her tears on her skin but she didn't bother to wipe them away. Nothing bothered her anymore. Brick was there.

"I don't want you to die," she sobbed. Brick smiled as he pulled her in for another kiss. Blossom felt herself pushing hard against him, wanting everything he had to offer her. She felt him suck on her lower lip and she gasped into the kiss. She wanted more. She wanted _him_.

"I'm yours, Blossom. I'll always be with you," he whispered, pressing his hand over her heart. "I said it, didn't I? I'll always be here."

"Blossom."

Blossom squeezed her eyes shut at the foreign voice, wanting it to go away.

"_Blossom._" The voice was louder and more annoyed, accompanied with hard knocks from her door.

"Go away, go away, go away," Blossom mumbled under her breath. She wanted to be alone with Brick.

"BLOSSOM!"

Blossom's eyelids flew open as her door was thrown open as well. She was sitting in front of her computer, curled up in her chair. Her computer was still turned on, showing a picture of her with her sisters and the Professor- her screensaver. She got up immediately and looked around. Brick was nowhere to be seen. Only Buttercup was there, standing by the door with her arms crossed, though her face spoke of worry.

"You've locked yourself in the room ever since we got back. Dinner's ready, come on," Buttercup sighed.

Blossom looked around the place. There was no trace of Brick anywhere. Was everything just her imagination? She could feel the logical half of herself scoff at her. Of course he was an imagination. There was no way he could come back. He was dead, gone, six feet under.

"Blossom," Buttercup called out. She flew over and took Blossom's arm, pulling her towards the door. "You haven't eaten lunch. Come on."

Professor Utonium and Bubbles were already seated at the dinner table, waiting for the other two. Blossom quietly slid into her usual seat. Dinner went on in silence, unusual for the Utonium household. Blossom picked at her food, having entirely no appetite to eat.

"Knowing Brick, he'd hate it if he knew that he's the reason you're starving yourself," Buttercup muttered.

"Buttercup!" Professor gasped. "Apologize at once!"

"For what?!" she snapped, standing up. "It's not my fault she's being like that."

"Buttercup, calm down," Bubbles sighed. "Just leave her be."

Buttercup sat back down, grumbling to herself as she finished her food. Blossom knew Buttercup was right. She knew she had to get over him and revert back to her old self.

But as much as she tried to, she couldn't. What was the use of it all? When she finally came into terms with her feelings for him, he wasn't there anymore.

Why didn't Brick say anything earlier? Why was he such an idiot?

Tears pricked her eyes and she sucked in a breath. What would she have done if Brick had actually said something? Would she have pushed him away or would she have pulled him in? Blossom clenched her fists that were on her lap as a soft sob escaped her mouth.

She just wanted him to know that she loved him to. But it was impossible.

She felt Buttercup pull her close, hugging her tight and rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"It's okay, Bloss... It's okay..." she murmured. "Just cry."

"That moron," Blossom whimpered. "Why didn't he just say it earlier?"

"Blossom, honey, maybe you'd like to be alone right now?" Professor asked. Blossom nodded at her father-figure and he sighed. "Alright, you're excused."

As she locked herself in her room and curled up on her bed, Blossom cried buckets. It didn't matter to her if her sisters heard their leader displaying traces of weakness. It didn't matter if she embarrassed herself by looking like a wreck with her tears.

All she knew was that she'd give anything to be with Brick, even if it was just for a moment longer. But that was never going to happen. It was something she had to accept.

* * *

><p>As days went by, Boomer and Butch tried to adapt to the idea of having just two of them at home. The day following Brick's death was terrible as for a moment, both of them had forgotten his demise. They had entered his room with hopes of waking him up, only to be greeted by a sight of an unmade bed.<p>

The girls still came to visit and the boys were thankful for that. Although not completely, the girls' presence helped to fill up some part of the void that had formed in the hearts of the two Ruffs.

Blossom never came. She couldn't even come into a radius of five hundred meters from the house without bursting into tears. The boys didn't know what their brother had prepared for her in his second video but they knew very well that Blossom's depression was worsening due to it.

They wanted to do something to his bedroom but they couldn't even bring themselves to enter it. Brick's room was a little messy with all his things scattered about and for a vacant room, it was unsightly. But Boomer and Butch couldn't bring themselves to clear the mess up. The mess served as a constant reminder of Brick. It was some form of evidence to convince them that he was not completely gone.

As stupid as it may sound, it gave them hope that someway, he could come back.

And perhaps he did.

About a month and a half after his death, there was suddenly loud and urgent knocks on their doors. Initially, Boomer and Butch were confused. No one came to their home except for Buttercup and Bubbles and said girls were already there, huddling with them as they watched _Halloween_ on tv.

Butch answered the door. It turned out, Blossom finally built courage to step into the house of her late lover.

However, she was deathly pale and for a moment, the four wondered if she had cancer as well. It took them a moment to realize that her paleness wasn't from an illness but from fear.

"Guys, I'm in trouble," she whispered, not even bothering to sit down. She stood in front of them, her hands fiddling with the sleeves of her pink blouse.

"What's wrong?" Bubbles asked. "Is everything okay? You hardly leave the house, even if it's to fight crime. What's the matter?"

Blossom trembled and she hesitated. She stood upright, pushed a loose strand of hair from her bangs behind her ears and sighed.

"I think... I might be pregnant," she said, ever so softly that even with superhearing, the rest had to strain their ears to listen.

"Pregnant?!" Buttercup gasped. "But Blossom, you haven't been out of the house since..." The green Puff stopped, her mouth hanging open from realization. "Wait, you don't mean..."

Blossom nodded.

"Oh crap," Butch mumbled. "But how? He was sick!"

"The cancer was in his head and lungs... His reproducing organs weren't affected, you know," Boomer said bitterly.

"It's really his?" Bubbles asked. "Maybe it's someone else's?"

Blossom shook her head. "He's the only one I've been with in a year... It can't be anyone else..."

"Now what?" Buttercup groaned. "Why didn't you use contraception?!"

"Buttercup," Bubbles chided. "Blossom, what're you going to do? You're a single mother now. You've to decide what's best for you and the baby."

"I don't know!" Blossom cried out. "Part of me is telling me to abort the baby because there's no way I can look after it without him but another part is telling me to keep it because that's all I have left of him."

"I think you should keep it," Butch said flatly. "You'll do fine as a single mom. Look, your Professor has taken care of three girls even without a wife. You'll be fine."

"The Professor isn't seventeen!" Blossom insisted. "I still have to go to school."

"You don't have to. You're ahead of everyone else already," Buttercup snapped. "You can be home schooled."

"We don't need jobs either. We're already superheroes. The mayor has already said that he's willing to pay us for our services," Bubbles added. "You can take care of the baby."

"Blossom, do you really want to abort your own child?" Boomer asked. "I don't mean to bring this up but what do you think Brick would have wanted you to do?"

"Honestly? I don't know!" Blossom replied. "That's why I came here. What would Brick have wanted?"

Butch and Boomer glanced at each other and frowned. "Man, I don't really know either but I do know that family means a lot to him," Butch replied.

"Yeah... So I guess he would ask you to keep it," Boomer continued. "And his uncles here would like to see him as well."

"So would his aunts!" Bubbles giggled as Buttercup grinned, holding out a thumbs up.

"But seriously, Bloss," Boomer said a little more solemnly. "It's your choice."

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><p><strong>I want to thank everyone who's been reviewing a favoriting. You guys mean so much to me! :D<strong>


	5. Ten Years Later

"You may kiss the bride."

As the couple pulled each other into a deep kiss, everyone broke out into a round of applause. Blossom let out a sigh as she shook her head happily, watching her younger sister finally settle down. Honestly, anyone would have expected Buttercup and Butch to settle down much much earlier but since when had the two of them not ever had any problems that threatened to tear their relationship apart? Unlike Boomer and Bubbles who got married a year after they officially started dating, it took the greens almost a decade to finally decide that they were truly meant for each other.

Blossom had to admit, she had never seen her green sister look as feminine as she did now. She wore a simple wedding gown (it's Buttercup, what do you expect?) but with Bubbles' insistence, there were beads delicately hand-sewn on the front. The dress hugged her body nicely and it flowed behind her like a calm river tricking down a hill. Her hair, which was now a bit longer and down to her shoulders, was pulled into a short messy bun and she wore her white veil over it. Her make-up was minimal but hey, it's Buttercup. Getting her to wear make-up itself was an admirable achievement.

Likewise, Butch looked dashing as well. He had stood at the altar, tapping his foot and fidgeting. Blossom had never seen Butch look so nervous before, not even when he proposed to Buttercup. Even at hard times, he never dropped his tough exterior. Between the two brothers, Blossom had to admit that Butch was the one who resembled his older brother more than Boomer did. Well, among the trio, Boomer had always stuck out like a sore thumb. As Blossom watched Butch fidget with his suit, she couldn't help but wonder, if it was his brother in his place, would he have been the same?

Butch and Buttercup withdrew from their kiss and smiled at each other, their eyes both speaking of joy and love. Blossom felt a tear fall out of her eye. It felt like it was just yesterday that she, Buttercup and Bubbles were sharing a room together and were the only family they had on top of Professor. And now, both her sisters were married.

Blossom let out a sigh. She wondered how they would have reacted if someone were to tell them back when they were five that they would have gotten married to their Rowdyruff counterparts in the future. They'd most probably have discarded it and laughed their heads off.

A soft cry made Blossom snap out of her thoughts just in time to witness Buttercup throwing her bouquet. A group of girls reached forward and in the mess, Blossom was able to briefly see her old friend Robin catch it.

Well, Robin and Mike had been going out for a long while. Perhaps it's time for them.

The cries beside her were not subsiding. Blossom turned to look at Bubbles, cradling a young blonde baby in her hands. The baby had her fists balled as she cried in her mother's arms. Beside her, Boomer was looking worriedly at the child.

"What's with her? You've already fed her, right?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah. Maybe she needs some fresh air," Bubbles replied. "It's cramped up in here." Boomer nodded and he took the baby from his wife, hugging her close to him. While lightly rocking her in his arms, he headed towards the door. Bubbles watched them leave with a sigh. "Being a mother is amazing, isn't it, Bloss?"

Blossom smiled at her. "Yupp, sure is."

"That's right, where's Blaise?" she asked, looking at Blossom.

"He's with Brooke. They're here... Somewhere," Blossom replied, looking around the place.

As if summoned, she soon caught a glimpse of a familiar head of red hair, running towards her. She grinned as Blaise ran up to her, pulling his cousin along behind him.

"Mom, it's too crowded here!" he complained, looking up at her with his wide red eyes.

"Deal with it, sweetie," she sighed. "Your Aunt Buttercup has finally gotten married to Uncle Butch."

"Is that why he's too busy to play with me?" Blaise asked, sounding annoyed.

"Its just for today. Anyway, you can play with Brooke, can't you?"

Blaise looked at his cousin, who was still holding his hand, and nodded. The younger blonde girl flashed him a wide smile that resembled her mother so much that Blossom couldn't help but wonder if they were clones instead of mother and child. She started pulling him away and he followed her quietly.

"Come on, Blossom. Let's go talk to the newly-weds," Bubbles urged. Blossom nodded and she allowed herself to be led through the crowd of people. Since a beloved Powerpuff and a infamous ex-villain were getting married, the whole town was here, including the media as well as many Townsville villains, such as Princess who thought that she still had something to do with the Rowdyruffs as well as Mojo and HIM who wanted to be there for their son's big day.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two of them finally reached the couple. Butch was holding Buttercup close to him as they chatted with a reporter, most probably being forced into narrating their love story on screen just like Boomer and Bubbles had to.

"Honestly, why did you finally decide to get married after so long?" the reporter asked. "It was years since Bubbles and Boomer tied the knot. They've even had two kids."

Buttercup and Butch exchanged amused, knowing looks. "Well, we actually didn't want to get married. Personally, we both aren't fine with the idea of having a piece of paper or a ring to tell us that we belong to each other," Buttercup admitted.

Blossom saw the change in Butch's face and she knew what was to come. For a moment, she contemplated leaving but from the size of the crowd, she knew that she wouldn't be able to get away in time. Even if she had walked off, her superhearing would have made her hear everything. She stood rooted on the spot, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart down.

"Well, the truth is, someone really important would loved to have seen us get married but he's not here now. The least we can do is to fulfill his wish," Butch said and he kissed the side of Buttercup's head. "This is for you, Brick."

Blossom swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to ignore the rising urge to start crying. It had been years and yet, she hadn't exactly come into terms with his death, so much so, she hadn't even talked to Blaise about his father properly.

As the reporters moved away from the newlyweds, Bubbles and Blossom shuffled forward. Bubbles squealed and threw her arms around Buttercup, wrenching her out of her husband's grasp. Blossom watched in slightly amusement as Buttercup tried to push her off unsuccessfully. Even after all these years, her sisters hadn't changed a bit.

"Hey, Bloss, how're you? Thank you so much for coming," Butch said as his wife was being suffocated by her blonde sister.

Blossom grinned. "Of course, we're family," she replied.

"Well, I'm glad to be a part of this family," Butch laughed. "Where's the little flame?"

"Brooke dragged him somewhere," Blossom sighed. "I don't know when's the next time I'll see him."

Butch laughed. "Yeah, he really can be a handful at times, a lot like..." Butch stopped, his eyes widening. Blossom didn't need him to continue. She knew exactly what he wanted to say. _A lot like his father._

"Anyway, have you eaten?"

Blossom was grateful for the change in topic. She shook her head and she let Butch lead her to the spread of food. The green Ruff continued chatting about the food and the troubles he had gone through to find the best caterer in town. Blossom chuckled a little lifelessly. Butch had already told her all of that the previous day. She knew that he was just trying to cover up his earlier slip-up, to turn Blossom's attention away from the fact that he had almost mentioned his brother.

In the past few years, talking about him had become a taboo around Blossom. Although Blossom tried not to make it show, she couldn't help but go quiet whenever he was mentioned. She had initially thought that getting over him and his death would have been easy. They didn't officially have anything so there wasn't much for her to mourn over. It turned out, she grieved more because of that. To think that if he was still alive, they would most probably be married, maybe even with another child. The fact that he died without anything happening between them was what made the whole situation depressing. Blossom figured that it might not have been that bad if Brick hadn't created the video and admitted his feelings. Blossom would then not have realized hers and perhaps she could have forgotten him more easily.

In other words, it was Brick's fault for creating the video and it was hers for watching it.

Buttercup's big day ended far too quickly and Blossom soon found herself headed towards her apartment hand in hand with her son. Buttercup wasn't going to be living with her anymore. From then on, it was just her and Blaise in there. It was going to be really lonely.

Midway, Blossom stopped. Blaise looked up at her questioningly but she took no notice.

Brick's wish was finally fulfilled. Sure, their siblings had gotten together after a long time but marriage was a whole different story. Brick would be bursting with pride and joy if he was there.

"Mom?"

Blaise's voice made her shake her head and snap back into reality. What was she doing? Blossom tightened her grip around her son's hand- the hand of the living proof of what she had with Brick, even if it was temporary.

"Blaise, do you... Want to see your father?" she asked, her voice cracking. She saw her son's red eyes widened and she was immediately thrown back to when she was ten. When Brick was ten.

Strange, when they both were ten, they hated each other. Blossom never really hated on stuff but she hated Brick, even more than the other villains of Townsville.

Maybe it was because she was jealous of him. She was jealous of the authority he held over his brothers. She wanted her sisters to listen to her, to follow all her plans. But they never did. At least, Buttercup never did.

Another reason why she hated Brick was because of the embarrassment he had caused her. She had always believed that the Powerpuff Girls would never lose and that they would always win. But in every single one of the battles with the boys, the outcome was never certain. Even a victory could not be called a victory. They were never able to kill the boys nor were they able to send them to jail. They always got away. It annoyed her greatly how Brick was especially good at slipping away whenever he was losing.

That's right. Brick was a coward. He couldn't even confess straight to her face.

Blossom thought that by putting Brick down, it could help her to get over his death but it never worked. It always made her feel worse.

Brick might have been a coward not to confess but she was an idiot not to have realized her feelings in the first place.

"But you said I don't have a dad," Blaise argued.

"Come on," Blossom urged, pulling him as she turned away.

Blaise had never seen his father's grave at all. In fact, Blossom hadn't been to the grave in years. The last time she went, Blaise was five. She had left him at Bubble's house as she went. She didn't spend long at the grave either. It just reminded her of how he wasn't there anymore, of how his body was deep down under, rotting away with no life.

Blaise didn't talk much as she led him to the graveyard. Although Blaise was a physical carbon copy of his father, he behaved more like his mother. He never spoke much, especially not in school. The only people whom he talked to were his friends (there weren't that many anyway) and family.

Still, there were instances where he resembled his father, especially in his love for video games, something his beloved Uncle Butch had successfully managed to nurture. He also had a love for books, something he had gotten from both his parents. He shared both his mother's love for fiction and his father's love for non-fiction, making him a full all-rounded reader.

If Blossom had to be honest, Blaise was much more knowledgeable than the ten year old Blossom.

By the time they arrived at Brick's grave, Blaise had a solemn expression, which told Blossom that he had figured out about his father's demise during their walk through the cemetery.

Blossom knelt down in front of the grave and ran her hand along the curved edge of the tomb.

"Hey, Brick... It's been a while..." she murmured with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry I only visited you once, and that too five years ago... I couldn't take it... You understand, right?" She looked up at Blaise and then down at the grave again, forcing herself not to let a tear roll down her face. If she could finally learn to hold in her tears when Brick was mentioned, maybe then she would be able to fully get over him.

"You died before I found out so I could never tell you in person. Brick, this is Blaise, your son. He looks like you, doesn't he? Sometimes I see the ten year old you in him and it makes me want to beat him up because you were such a jerk back then," she sniffed, laughing a little at the end. "I'm kidding. I love him and I know that you do too."

"Mom?" Blaise whispered. "Is this Dad's grave?"

"Yes, sweetie, your father… He died of cancer about ten years ago," Blossom replied.

"Is this why you never told me about him? Aunt Bubbles said that I should leave you be about my dad and you'll tell me soon enough… When I'm ready."

Trust Bubbles to make sure that he kept his mouth silent as well. Blossom sent a silent thanks to her sister. But she knew that eventually, she had to face the truth. She couldn't keep Blaise in the dark for so long. He was already ten.

"No, she was wrong," Blossom sighed. "I had to wait till _I_ was ready."

Blossom reached into her bag and pulled out her wallet. After rummaging through cards and notes, she fished out a wrinkled and faded piece of paper- a photograph. She passed it to Blaise and he stared at it for a while.

"That's you and that's Uncle Butch and Uncle Boomer and Aunt Buttercup and Aunt Bubbles," he said emotionlessly. "So that guy beside you is Dad?"

"Yeah. He looks just like you, doesn't he?" Blossom sighed, still holding in her tears.

"Who was he? Was he a superhero like you or a bad guy like Uncle Butch?"

Blossom sighed and sat on the grass beside Brick's grave, pulling Blaise to sit down beside her. She looked up, recalling the times she had spent with Brick as well as trying to keep her tears in her eyes. "Your father's name is Brick. He's the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys. Along with your uncles, he was Townsville's baddest villain. Your Uncle Butch even believes that he was the top of all criminals and if he was alone, even without his brothers, he could still survive in a life of crime…

"But it seems that life wasn't fair to your father. When he was seventeen, he was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. When I found out about his condition, he only had about three months to live, though he only ended up living for another two months.

"One day, when I was on patrol, I saw your father trying to fly. His cancer was affecting his powers, you see, and he almost fell to his death but I saved him. It was here we became friends instead of enemies. After that night, my sisters and I started hanging out with him and his brothers. It was really fun."

Blossom sighed and looked back down at Blaise. He was staring at her with wide eyes, obviously enthralled by the story. Perhaps he was simply glad that he finally got to hear about his father- someone he had obviously been longing for for all his life.

"What kind of person was he?" Blaise asked. "Was he nice?"

"Well, he was a villain after all," Blossom laughed, twiddling a strand of her hair awkwardly. "When I just got to know him, he wasn't really nice. He was loud, a little dumb and really bossy. He used to hit your Uncle Boomer just for the sake of it.

"But as he grew up, he really mellowed down. He got closer to his brothers and he really talked less. He got really analytical and he came up with a lot of plans that almost got me killed. Brick was the only person who ever posed a decent threat to me.

"Since he got brain cancer, his personality changed a lot. He got less antagonistic and more amiable. At the same time, he got really depressed as well. He needed friends then, not enemies, and I was glad I made the decision to get to know him."

Blaise was blinking at her and Blossom realized that she had been going on. "I'm sorry. Do you even understand the words I used?

"I'm not dumb, Mom," he sighed with a twitch of his eye. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you loved Dad but… Mom, did you love the real him or the person he was after the cancer?" Blaise asked.

Blossom took back all the doubts she had in her mind. Her son was much much smarter than she thought he was. The only other person who had ever asked her that question was the Professor but he didn't manage to get an answer out of her.

Because Blossom didn't know. She didn't know if she was in love with the real Brick or the one who was plagued by the cancer. Some part of her didn't even want to know because she felt that if it really was post-cancer Brick she had fell in love with, would that mean that it wasn't actually Brick she was in love with?

Was it?

"He's personality could be different, but he's still Brick, isn't he?" Blossom wondered aloud.

"Perhaps," Blaise shrugged. "I wish I could talk to him…"

"Just say what you want to say, Blaise…" Blossom replied. "It's okay. I wont judge you for talking to a tomb… Many people do that."

The hesitation was evident in Blaise's eyes but he inched closer to the grave and, just like Blossom earlier on, he placed his hand on the rounded edge of the stone. His fingers gripped the stone tightly and he took in a deep breath.

"Hey Daddy," he said. "My name's Blaise… I'm your son…I'd like to meet you… I wish I can do stuff with you like play video games together or go out to the park and play catch but I guess I can't. I used to think that you left Mom when she was pregnant because you didn't want me. Nobody ever spoke of you so I came up with weird things. I hated you, Daddy… But I know now.

"I know Mommy's wrong to bring me to you so late but I don't blame her… I think she loves you a lot. Aunt Bubbles told me that love makes you do stupid things but it's also the most amazing feeling ever. I guess that's what you felt when you fell for Mommy, right? She's your enemy but you love her right?"

For the first time in a while, Blaise teared up. He moved closer to the stone till he was leaning his forehead against it.

"I don't even know you, Daddy, so why am I feeling so sad?" he sobbed. Blossom moved over to hold her son close, oblivious to her own tears that she hadn't managed to hold in. Blaise wasn't one to cry in public. He didn't cry when their pet dog was ran over by a car. He didn't cry when his favorite ball went missing. He didn't cry when Butch accidentally smashed his xbox out of anger.

He never cried.

But there he was crying over someone he never met.

"I don't hate that you're a villain. I think it's cool that you and Mommy were once enemies," he admitted. "And I'm glad to be the child of the best superhero and best villain in Townsville. It feels like I'm a child of light and dark, like in all those fantasy novels I've read. It's cool."

Blossom ran her hand through Blaise's flaming red hair and pulled him into a tight embrace. "You're the only living proof I have of Brick's existence in my life, Blaise… Whatever you choose to do in future, I want you to always make sure you'll make him proud."

"I don't even know him, Mom… How do I make him proud?"

"Never let people dictate the way you should live, Blaise. Your father lived almost his whole life with the belief that he was made to destroy my sisters and I. He held on tightly to that sole purpose. His life became meaningless since he never really could accomplish that. But the moment he let go of that and got close to me, he got happier…"

"How do you know that?"

"Because of his smile," Blossom said. "Your father hardly ever smiles out of happiness, Blaise. He smirks a lot and he has a whole range of mischievous grins and he always uses but it wasn't until I got close to him did I see him smile out of joy. In the last few weeks of his life, I saw him smile more than I did in all the years I had known him."

"Are you proud of Dad, Mom?"

Blossom nodded. "Although he lost the battle to cancer, he was still a fighter… Even though he didn't live his full three months, he always had hope… Till the very end, he made sure that the people he loved knew how much he valued them."

Blossom moved away from Blaise and closer to the tomb. She held it again, forcing a weak smile onto her face. She wanted to cry but she wanted to remain strong as well. After so long, she had to get over him.

"I can't continue moping over you anymore, can I?" she whispered. "Now that your wish is fulfilled, I have to let you go… Our siblings got married. You wanted that, didn't you? I know that you want it to be us as well... I think we'd have made a good couple. I wish you're here."

_But I am, Blossom. Remember, I'm always in here._

Blossom felt a sudden warmth about her, as if someone was enclosing her in a long embrace. She looked around the place. There was no trace of anyone except for her and Blaise. She must have imagined it...

Or did she?

"Brick was that you?" she asked, whispering. Blossom placed her hand on her chest, feeling her heart beat calmly against her ribs. That's right... Brick would always be in there. His body might be in a grave, rotting away and dead but he was very much alive in her, through her memories and emotions.

She stood up and took Blaise's hand. "We'll come here again soon, Brick. Your birthday is coming in three weeks anyway," she said and she turned to Blaise. "Say goodbye to Daddy."

Blaise waved and mumbled a farewell before he let his mother lead him out of the graveyard. As Blossom walked off, she turned to give one last parting glance at the grave of her beloved. It was then she saw it, though it disappeared right after a blink of her eye. Perhaps it was her imagination again, just like back then. However, this time, it felt very different.

No, it wasn't her imagination. It was real.

Brick had been standing there, watching them leave. His face spoke of many unspoken emotions and Blossom felt her heart swell.

Brick loved both of them, even though he couldn't be there in person. But he would continue living on in the hearts of his lover and son.

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><p><strong>Well, with that, this really short but sweet Blossick fanfiction has come to an official end. Honestly, this has been really fun to write. Perhaps it's because I'm a sadistic freak that loves killing off my favourite characters... Oh well. I'm so so glad that this story is actually impactful enough to make some people cry. It's amazing, really. I'm honored to see that many of you love this story. It really makes my day when I wake up to see a review or two on my notification email. <strong>

**With the end of this story, I'm going to continue with The Boys Are Back In Town Again so for those of you who are also following up that story, do look forward to some lovely Greens in the upcoming chapter. **

**This is Obsessiveangel, signing off. Teehee. **


	6. Alternate Ending: Desires of a Dead Man

**I lied.**

* * *

><p><em>Hello there. You must be pretty free if you're here. You are? How about you let me tell you a story? Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Brick. Since birth, he had been tormented by his fathers about his true meaning in life. This is a tale of what happened after he learnt the true meaning in life and chose to move on from the darkness that once plagued his heart. It's going to be long so please, make yourself comfortable.<em>

* * *

><p>"It hurts… It hurts… Make it stop," Brick whined, tossing and turning in bed.<p>

"Brick, you have to bear with it," Blossom sighed. "I can't do anything!"

Brick let out a sob and curled himself into a ball, clutching his head with both his hands. Blossom could only watch as he thrashed about, the headache getting from bad to worse in a matter of heartbeats. She had already gave him painkillers but it didn't seem to work at all. Brick's health was deteriorating in an alarming rate. For the past three days, all he ever did was stay in bed and cry.

The door flung open and Boomer walked in with a very worried face. In his hands, he carried a glass of water and a round pill. Brick opened an eye and looked at his brother.

"Eat this. It'll help," Boomer said. Brick's face spoke of the doubt he had but he abided nonetheless. He easily swallowed the pill and drank the water. Blossom remembered how Brick had joked about him being an expert at swallowing pills thanks to the cancer and she smiled a little. She'd give anything to see him smile at that moment, even if it was a little bit.

Brick flopped back on the bed and curled himself up again. Boomer stood by Blossom, watching his brother for a moment, before heading back out of the door. Blossom reached over and took one of Brick's hands, squeezing it lightly.

"Is it helping?" Blossom asked.

Brick squeezed her hand back but due to his failing strength, the grip was weak. "Not really…"

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"

"Like they'd be any help," Brick snorted. "I'll be fine… I just… Feel sleepy all of a sudden." Blossom's heart race from his sudden sleepiness. Was he really sleepy or was it something else? Blossom tightened her hold on his hand, and watched as he closed his eyes. She felt a shiver run through her as Brick stopped trembling and his scrunched up face smoothened out. His breathing eased out to a steady rhythm and Blossom let herself relax.

Brick was really just asleep. Thank god. Boomer must have given him a sleeping pill.

Blossom decided that watching Brick sleep would be kinda freaky so she stood up and walked out. A familiar aroma wafted out, filling her nostrils. She walked to the kitchen and saw Boomer placing out plates on the table. He carried a pan over from the stove and poured some spaghetti onto all three plates.

"Hey, Blossom," he greeted. "Is Brick asleep yet?" Blossom nodded and Boomer let out a sigh of relief. "Great. I made some for you as well. Would you like some?"

"Yes please!" she chuckled as she slid into one of the seats. Boomer went to get Butch. Blossom stared at the spaghetti in envy. Why was Boomer such a good cook? She wasn't even half as good as him and she used to pride herself in her ability to cook. Boomer had a natural talent in cooking and if he wasn't an idiot who busied himself with the destruction of Townsville, he could actually earn himself a pretty decent salary as a chef.

Butch and Boomer joined her and they started eating. Blossom had gotten used to eating with them, even though they were (or used to be) her mortal enemies. Once, it was a little awkward but she had gotten over it really quickly.

"How's Brick doing?" Butch asked.

"He's getting worse," Blossom sighed.

"I don't even know if he'd live to see next week," Boomer added as he picked at his food. "Can't you do something, Blossom?"

Blossom shook her head and Boomer sighed. "What about your Professor?" Butch asked.

"He's a Professor, Butch, not a doctor," Blossom replied. "I don't think he has anything that could help Brick."

"But he's the only one who fully understands _us_! We're different from normal humans, Blossom. The only people who really know how we work are us, him and Mojo but we don't trust Mojo," Butch pointed out.

Blossom realised that they had a point. The Professor was really the only person who understood how the body systems of the girls (and boys) were like. He was their creator, after all. If he could create them, perhaps he could save Brick as well. Blossom hadn't actually thought of it in that way and if the Professor really could help, she should apologize to Brick.

"I guess it's worth a try," Blossom sighed.

After lunch, as Boomer cleaned up, Blossom flipped out her phone and dialled the number of their home. Thankfully, the Professor had answered, which meant that he was home and probably free. Blossom immediately narrated the whole situation to the Professor. Surprisingly, he told them to come by and that he could try and take a look at him.

And so, the three of them brought the still-sleeping Brick all over the Powerpuff's house. Buttercup was out playing soccer with some of her friends and Bubbles had gone shopping for some clothes for the upcoming school term, leaving them with the house all for themselves.

"The cancer is serious… He doesn't have very long left… I'd say about a few days," Professor admitted. "Rightfully, nothing can be done at this stage but he isn't a normal humans. The Chemical X in his bloodstream is actually putting up a decent fight against the cancer but there's just not enough. That's why his powers are failing him as well. He also has this huge tumour in his brain. Normally, removing it would end up in excessive blood loss that will immediately kill him…"

"So there's nothing you can do?" Boomer asked.

"I can think of something but I don't know if his body can take it. He's already very weak," the Professor sighed. "I can fix him up with a continuous supply of Chemical X while I remove the tumour in his brain… After that, I'll just continue on with the Chemical X until all the cancer cells have been killed.

"That's it?" Butch muttered. "You can't be serious…"

"I'm not a trained professional, Butch. I could end up killing him," the Professor sighed. "Even if _I _don't kill him, he might die of an overdose of Chemical X."

"Could we get doctors to do it?" Blossom suggested.

"No. This is an unapproved method. There's no way anyone would agree to taking such a big risk. No doctors will do it. Plus, they don't know about the way his body works. I wouldn't have recommended taking him to a hospital in the first place."

"Professor Utonium, we're willing to take the risk!" Butch said immediately. "I mean, the worst that can happen is he dies and he's already dying so… Please."

Professor looked at the two boys who were staring up at him and sighed. He turned to Blossom in question and she nodded. The Professor shrugged and walked to the cabinet at the corner of the room, opening it to reveal tubs and tubs of Chemical X. He took a stack of them out and placed them on the table, where Brick was lying asleep.

"Blossom, I'd like you to help me out in here. The two of you wait upstairs. Make yourselves comfortable. When Buttercup and Bubbles return, please tell them not to disturb the two of us."

* * *

><p>The procedure took about a few hours.<p>

One hour passed and the two boys were pacing to and fro the length of the living room. Fear was gnawing away at them and they realized that they had never felt such fear before, not even when they were on the brink of destruction at the hands of the Powerpuff Girls. Perhaps it was because back then, all they thought about was their own self. But as they waited for their older brother, all they could think about was him.

Boomer had always thought that Brick was a jerk. He hated being hit and bossed about. But in the past, all he wanted was to be accepted by Brick. In fact, when he was much younger, he idolized his older brother. Brick was perfect (as a villain). He was jealous of Butch, honestly. But he knew it wasn't Butch's fault. Their personalities were as such. Butch was the tough and destructive one, even more that Brick was. It was obvious that Brick would prefer him, especially since Boomer was seen as too dumb to match up to the two.

But as he grew older, Brick got more perfect (if that was even possible). He had flaws, of course, but they didn't seem so big in Boomer's eyes. What made Boomer really happy was that Brick started acknowledging him as a brother, rather than a dog of some sort. It made him happy. And when Brick's cancer came, it crushed Boomer, of course, but it also made him realize that no matter how tough and cool Brick could look in his eyes, Brick was still a boy. He needed his brothers. He needed support.

Butch didn't need Brick around or anything. Even if he did, he wasn't sappy enough to admit it. But he was sure that he wanted Brick to live. He didn't want Brick to die. Brick had been his only and best friend since they were born. Sure, there was Boomer, but Boomer seemed to be on a different wavelength from his brothers at time. Butch knew that sometimes, it was as if he was Brick's shadow, and that by agreeing to everything his brother said or did, it made him seem like he was just a brainless follower. But the truth was, he really did agree to everything and when he didn't, he wouldn't follow through with it. The rare arguments that Butch had with Brick were never seen by anyone, not even Boomer. Butch knew that most of the time, Brick gave in to him. Because that was what older brothers always do, isn't it?

Even at a young age, Brick had loved his brothers. He just never showed it.

Butch never told anyone but the reason why Brick was so hard on Boomer was because he was afraid that Boomer's sensitivity and naivety would make it hard for him to survive in a world of crime. If Boomer ever found himself alone and against the girls, he wouldn't be able to fight or escape.

True enough, he got caught once and after that, Brick had never let him go anywhere alone.

Of course, Butch had never told that to Boomer. He couldn't help but regret it. At the same time, if Brick died, he wasn't going to. He didn't need Boomer feeling worse over the death of Brick.

Two hours passed and Bubbles came home, arms loaded with shopping bags. Her eyes widened as Boomer narrated to her what the Professor was up to in his lab and she agreed not to interfere.

"Do you boys want anything to drink?" she asked. Both of them shook their heads. Bubbles flew up to her room after that.

Three hours passed and Buttercup returned. She listened to Boomer quietly and sighed. She dropped the soccer ball on the floor and let it roll to a corner.

"He'll be fine," she sighed. "It's the Professor after all. I'm going up for a shower."

Three and a half hours passed and the door of the lab swung open. The two boys, who had been sitting on the couch silently, jumped up and floated to it. Blossom walked out, wiping her hands on a towel. Her face was emotionless and the boys couldn't tell if everything went well or not. She looked up at the two of them and smiled weakly.

"The tumour is gone, thankfully," she said. "As for the rest, it's all up to his body… I'm not too sure though. We tried our best but he's still lost a lot of blood. A normal human would have died but thank god for the chemical… But he's still weak. He might not survive, you know…"

Blossom looked troubled and Boomer could tell immediately what she was feeling. He took her hands and squeezed them lightly. "I just want you to know that if Brick dies now, it's not your fault," he said. "Don't blame yourself."

Blossom grimaced and pulled her hands away. "I'm going to my room… The Professor's with him…"

Four hours passed and Bubbles and Buttercup floated down to the boys. Bubbles grabbed Boomer's arm and dragged him to the kitchen while Buttercup sat in front of the tv. She took out a game controller and tossed it at Brick, which he caught by reflex. He walked over to sit beside her.

"You need to calm down," Buttercup said as she started setting up the same. "How about a round of FIFA between the two of us?"

Butch remained silent but he nodded. Buttercup was right. Waiting for Brick was going to take forever and it was just going to kill him from inside. He needed to take his mind of it and relax. A video game would be the best way for him.

Meanwhile, Bubbles had dragged Boomer into the kitchen to help her bake a cake. "When Brick wakes up, he'd love a celebration," she said, taking out the necessary utensils and ingredients.

Bubbles and Buttercup were not as knowledgeable as Blossom. They didn't fully understand the science behind the procedure like Blossom did. But they had one thing: faith. They had faith in the Professor's abilities. They had faith in Brick's strength.

Both Boomer and Butch realized that they were going to need a lot more faith to go through the whole ordeal of waiting.

Five hours and twenty three minutes after it had began, Professor Utonium came out and sighed. Boomer and Bubbles flew out of the kitchen, leaving their cake to bake in the oven. Buttercup and Butch paused their game and turned to look at him. Blossom floated down the stairs. All five pairs of eyes fixed on the middle-aged man.

"It's over," he said and everyone felt a rush of panic. Over? What was over? The operation or his life? Professor looked at them for a while before grinning widely. "He's awake and healthy. Go see him."

Boomer and Butch didn't need to be told twice. They flew straight into the lab.

Brick's hair had been cut shorter than it had ever been and he was sitting on the table, pulling on his red long-sleeved t-shirt. He had his back faced towards his brothers, which gave them a clear view of a long red scar at the back of his head, where the hair parted to show some skin.

Brick with short hair was something they would have laughed at all those years ago but now, it didn't seem to matter. Both of them flew towards him and threw themselves on him, hugging him from behind.

"Brick!" they cried out, choking from happiness.

Brick glanced at both of them and grinned. "Hey there," he chuckled.

"How're you feeling?" Butch asked.

"Great, actually. My head feels so light. It still stings though but the Professor said it'll get better," Brick replied.

"You're fully cured right?" Boomer question, tightening his hold on his brother as he buried his face in Brick's neck. "I don't want to go through all of this again…"

"Yeah… I'm cured… Looks like you're stuck with me for a long long time, Boomie," Brick sighed, reaching over to ruffle the blue Ruff's hair.

"Alright!" Butch cheered. "Let's go up and celebrate!"

"Yupp!" Boomer agreed. "Bubbles and I baked a cake for you, Brick!"

Brick followed his brothers up and into the kitchen. He watched from aside as they went about, along with the Professor, Bubbles and Buttercup, setting up the place for dinner. He frowned, realizing that his counterpart was missing. Without saying anything, he slipped out of the room, unnoticed, and flew upstairs. With his x-ray vision, he was easily able to spot Blososm in her room, looking out of the window. He flew over to that room and knocked on the door.

Blossom opened the door and flashed him a weak smile. "Hey, how're you feeling?" she asked.

"Better than I have been since a year ago," he replied, flashing her a smile as well. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Blossom answered much too quickly. Brick raised an eyebrow and she sighed. "I was really scared for you… The unease hasn't quite left yet. You sure you're okay right?"

Brick chuckled and reached over to give her a playful forehead flick. Blossom blinked at him, her eyes wide. "Gee, stop worrying about me already. Isn't one month of worries enough?" he laughed. He pointed at himself. "Enemy, remember?"

Blossom pouted playfully, making Brick laugh. He hadn't been able to laugh without his head hurting in a while so when he did, it made him feel so free and good that he was sure he looked like a little boy.

"I must be insane then," she joked. "Saving the life of an enemy… What was I thinking?"

"Who knows?" Brick chuckled. He stared at her for a while, gathering himself and calming down so he could put on a serious expression. "Thank you, for saving my life and ending all that pain… I know it was a big risk but I grateful that you took it."

"Sorry that we didn't think of this sooner," Blossom admitted.

"No worries," Brick replied. "I… I'm just really happy, Bloss. You brought me back from the brink of death. I'm forever in debt to your family."

"Well, you could try giving up crime," Blossom suggested. Brick could tell that she doubted if he would accept that. After all, all his life, he only knew crime.

Well, almost all his life.

Brick reached forward and placed a hand on her cheek, his thumb lightly stroking her smooth face. "But Blossom," he murmured and her face immediately fell. "I've already given up crime… Ever since we had our first night together. You have my word. You won't see me- or my brothers- causing chaos on the streets anymore. You girls have helped us so much and for that, we're thankful." Brick leaned forward to kiss her lightly on her forehead. "Come on, let's go down… Bubbles and Boomer baked a cake."

* * *

><p>Following that, Blossom started seeing Brick less and less. With the new term approaching, Blossom found it hard to make time to visit the boys. Her trips over got less frequent and when the new school term started, it faded to none at all. As usual, balancing high school and crime fighting was a struggle, even if it was for a prodigious student like her.<p>

Brick didn't fade off entirely from her mind. He just became less important… Well, at least until about two months later.

Blossom woke up with the urge to throw up again. She ran towards the toilet before giving in to her urges at the sink. It had been a week since she started throwing up and it was getting on her nerves. The nausea, however, would end awhile later and she would be well enough to attend school.

On that day in particular, Blossom didn't have to go to school because it was Saturday. She had tons of homework to do by the end of the weekend and she knew she needed to finish it quick before moving on to study for the tests that were coming up. Hopefully no one decided to mess with Townsville.

"Blossom, are you okay?" Bubbles asked when she went down for breakfast. "I heard you throw up."

"I've been throwing up for the past week already. Funning thing is, after awhile, I feel all better," she replied, shrugging as she moved to make herself a cup of coffee.

"Morning sickness," Bubbles chuckled.

"That's bull, Bubbles," Blossom sighed with a roll of her eyes. She added a few teaspoons of sugar in her coffee and took a sip. Ouch, too hot.

"Come on, maybe it is," her younger sister giggled. "When was your last period?"

"My last period was…" Blossom frowned, thinking back. She hadn't had her period since sometime in summer. It had to be about two and a half months since she last did. Blossom bit her bottom lip. Her? Pregnant? Nah, that couldn't be it. The last time she did it was with Brick all those weeks ago and she was very sure it was a safe day for her.

Wasn't it?

"Follow me," Bubbles said, not waiting for an answer. She grabbed Blossom by the arm roughly, causing her older sister to almost spill the cup of coffee in her attempt at placing it on the table. Bubbles led Blossom up to Buttercup's room and started pounding on the door.

"What is it?!" their sister yelled as she opened the door with a scowl. Buttercup was wearing a green tank top and black shorts, accompanied by a pair of black sneakers with green laces. She held a helmet in one hand and her skateboard in another.

"Blossom needs a pregnancy test!" Bubbles exclaimed, pushing her way in and moving over to Buttercup's chest of drawers. Buttercup dropped her stuff as Bubbles started rummaging through it.

"Hey, piss off. That's my underwear drawer!" Buttercup snapped.

"I can see that," Bubbles chuckled, pulling out a lacy green thong and wiggling her eyes at her sister. "Who'd you wear this for?"

"Look, that was a gift from Mitch when we were dating. I've never wore it," Buttercup scoffed. She snatched the thong from Bubbles and threw it into the drawer. She opened another one and pulled out a box that she threw at Blossom. Blossom caught it clumsily. "So? Who knocked you up?"

"None of your business," Blossom snapped.

"I bet it's Dexter," Bubbles said. "He's been crushing over you for as long as I can remember. Like, have you_ seen_ the way he looks at you?"

Blossom thought about her geeky Science lab partner and shuddered. Dexter might be a boy genius and he might be just as smart (or maybe even smarter) than she was but that did not mean she liked him. In fact, she actually hated how people thought they were made for each other. Dexter had no life aside from his intelligence. He was a bore. She preferred someone who was fun and smart.

Kinda like Brick…

"I would _never_ have sex with him, Bubbles. Ever."

Bubbles sighed and scratched her cheek. "I don't know… Mike?"

"He's with Robin. They got together at the start of summer, remember?" Buttercup pointed out. "Anyway, if anyone among the three of us is to get preggy from him, it's _you_."

"Well, it can't be Mitch because he was with you until summer," Bubbles said. "And Blossom and him don't match… Damn, I have no idea. God, what are you going to do Bloss? He needs a father!"

Blossom felt her eye twitch. "Bubbles, just because you don't have an idea who his father is, it doesn't mean I don't," she said. "_If_ I am pregnant, I am very sure I know who's responsible."

"Who?" Bubbles cooed.

"Not telling you."

"It's Brick," Buttercup sighed. Bubbles squealed and looked at her questioningly. Blossom shook her head, making Buttercup's eyes roll. "Blossom's been away at the boys' for quite a lot of nights already. She never denied having sex when I brought it up on the phone the other time she was at their place. It could be any one of them but I'm guessing it's Brick."

"Why not Butch or Boomer?" Bubbles wondered aloud.

"Blossom and Boomer in bed together? Please… No, I take that back. _Boomer_ in bed with a girl is just weird enough. And Butch, well, Blossom doesn't seem like the type of girl he goes for," Buttercup explained. "By method of elimination, it has to be Brick. And plus, why can't it be him? He's the guy she spent the most time with the entire summer."

"Woah, Blossom, you're in love with a Rowdyruff!" Bubbles gasped. "How cool is that?"

"Bubbles, just because he _might_ have gotten me pregnant, it doesn't mean I'm in love with him."

Buttercup was grimacing. "Ew, sis. You forced yourself on a guy who was dying. That's weird, man."

"He wanted it!" Blossom stamped her foot childishly. "And yeah, he was dying. How was I supposed to say no?"

Bubbles started pushing her towards the toilet and Blossom sighed, deciding to do as she was told. About a few minutes later, Blossom emerged, her eye twitching in annoyance. She shoved the test into Bubbles' hands and sighed.

"Positive," she grumbled. "Now what?"

"Oh my god! I'm going to be an aunt! Blossom, you're going to be a _mother_! This is great! Wait till I tell the Professor!" Bubbles chuckled, flying out of the room before her sisters could stop her.

"Oh boy," Buttercup sighed.

"Oh boy indeed. What am I supposed to do, BC? I can't have this child. I'm still in school," Blossom hissed. "I need to graduate and go to college and all, you know."

"I don't see the problem," Buttercup sighed. "You can ask Professor to get you home schooled until you have the child. You're smart as hell so I'm sure the school will let him… He's been complaining about being alone at home since the three of us are out a lot so the baby can keep him occupied when you're in school or out fighting crime."

"I don't know if I'm ready to have this baby!" Blossom insisted.

"Are you going to abort it?" Buttercup asked bitterly.

Blossom considered it. She remembered doing an essay on it once and ever since then, she was completely against the idea of it. There was no way she was going to let her child suffer and die right even before he could take his first breath.

Blossom shook her head. She had no choice but to go on with the pregnancy.

"Are you going to give the child up for adoption?" Buttercup asked again.

"Perhaps… I really got enough in my hands," Blossom replied.

"You're going to suffer nine months of pregnancy, go through labour and a few more months of recovery just for someone else to raise the child, huh?" Buttercup sighed. "Anyway, don't forget about Brick. It is his child we're talking about."

Blossom furrowed her brows. Brick was the last thing that she thought of when the problems associated to her pregnancy popped into her mind. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if he suggested an abortion in the first place. Come on, he could have given up crime but Blossom didn't know if he was doing it just because he owed her. For all she knew, he could still be a bad person deep down. If there was one thing she had learnt from all her encounters will villains was that they could never be trusted.

"Come on, even if he does want the child, what makes you think he's cut out to be a father?" Blossom complained. "Just a year ago, he was threatening to blow up the city and kill everyone, babies included. Plus, Boomer was a lot like a baby all those years ago and he was never nice to him!"

"They were five, Blossom. You could say that Brick was pretty much like a baby back then as well. A baby hitting a much bigger baby. No biggie," Buttercup shrugged. "I think Brick is the most cut out among the three to be a father. I agree that there are other better guys but look at it this way. Among the three of us, you're the most mature and logical. Like right now, you're basing everything on logic. You've taken care of Bubbles and I as we grew up since we don't have a mom. In a way, you could be somewhat like a mother-figure to us."

Blossom thought for a moment and nodded. If she did decide to take care of the baby, she could possibly be a great mother.

Buttercup continued, "So in the case of the Rowdyruff Boys, the one who holds the most responsibility would be your counterpart- Brick. Since Boomer and Butch are well alive, I'm guessing he took really good care of them without us knowing. We only saw them like… Once a week or something. How can we judge? Plus, just like how we don't have a mother, they don't have a mother as well."

"They have two fathers, though!" Blossom insisted, trying to prove her point right even though she knew damn well that Buttercup was right.

"A crazy monkey genius and a cross-dressing lobster-clawed demon. Both of which told them that their only mission in life is to be evil and destroy us. Right, amazing dads," Buttercup sighed. "Come on, Bloss. You're smart. You should know Brick's potential the best."

"I should tell him," Blossom agreed.

"I meet him every week at the skate park. Come along," Buttercup said. She pulled out her phone and frowned. "We better hurry too. Butch is a little pissed that I'm late…"

Along their way out, they bumped into Bubbles and the Professor. It turned out the Professor was supportive of her child. In fact, he seemed a little too happy for a father whose teenage daughter just got impregnated by someone who, about a year ago, was trying to kill her. Blossom's mind was in a whirlwind. A part of her wanted to keep the child, she really did, but another part of her told her that at that point in her life, there were stuff that were more important, like crime fighting and school.

Bubbles decided to tag along with her sisters to the skate park, saying that she could possibly see some hot guys in action. Blossom agreed as well. Perhaps seeing a few guys on a Saturday morning could end up livening her mood. Though she knew that her main mission was to find Brick.

She didn't have to search for him. When the three girls reached the park, the boys were there to greet them, as if they had been waiting.

"Yo, Butters, you're late!" Butch yelled.

"Shut it, Butch. You're always late anyway," Buttercup yelled back.

"Well, you're later than me, which makes you really fucking late," Butch snapped.

"Lively, aren't they?" Boomer sighed, scratching the back of his neck in amusement. "So what brings the two of you here?"

"I was planning on looking for a hottie," Bubbles chuckled.

Boomer raised his eyebrow and held out his arms. "Well, look no further." Bubbles giggled and shoved him lightly, making him laugh as well. "Hey, how about I show you some of my moves since BC and Butch don't look like they're going to end of arguing anytime soon." Bubbles nodded vigorously. The two blondes linked arms immediately and Boomer started leading Bubbles into the park, his skateboard dragging beside him.

"What about you, Blossy? Ran out of homework to complete?" Brick teased. Blossom flashed him a glare and he held his hands out in surrender. "Alright sorry. It's just that ever since we started meeting up with BC here, we always asked about you and Bubbles. Apparently, Bubbles is always painting something and you're with your homework. Psh, nerd."

Blossom pointed at herself incredulously. "I-I am not a nerd. I know how to have fun!"

"How? Reading biographies?" Brick mocked.

"Ew, no. Who reads those stuff?" Blossom scoffed, making a face. She liked books, sure, but novels and classics were her thing. Anything about the real world was a bore and if she wanted to know something, she'd google it.

"Actually, I do," Brick admitted with a sigh. "About army generals and dictators. I think they're cool."

"No way, Brick? Reading? The world is about to end." Brick's scowl made Blossom smirk. At least she was on the giving end of the teases and that was all that mattered for the moment.

"I am _your_ counterpart, you know," Brick sighed. "I love books, especially historical non-fiction works. It's interesting. Do you know that Hitler had a really wild sex life?"

"Is that all that matters to you?" Blossom sighed, but at the mention of sex, she realized her real reason for being there. She had to tell Brick about the child. She looked around the place. The skate park was filled. It seemed a little too crowded for him to safely skate without falling and cracking his skull. "Are you going to skate now?"

"I don't think so," Brick admitted. "It's a little too crowded. Damn, we were actually pretty early but Butch decided to wait for your sister and now the park's taken up."

"Sorry, we had a little family emergency," Blossom sighed. "But if you're not skating now, how about some coffee?" With the mention of coffee, Blossom realized that her cup of coffee was still on the kitchen table back home and it would be much too cold to drink it when she got back. Great.

Brick glanced at his watch and then at the park before he shrugged. Slinging his helmet by its strap on his shoulders, he picked up his skateboard and started walking towards the nearest Starbucks a distance away. "Gosh, Blossom," he said in a mocking hurt voice, "after getting so close to me during the summer, you decide to do a disappearing act on me and now, all of a sudden, you're asking me out on a coffee date."

"I didn't do a disappearing act on you. I told you already. I got to go to school," Blossom sighed. "Anyway, why do I have to be the one to visit you or ask you out? Why can't you do it?"

"Because you might be busy. I don't want to impose anything after... You know, all that," Brick replied, gesturing to his head. "So I thought I'd leave it up to you to decide where you want this thing between us to go." He opened the door and held it for her before sliding in behind her.

"This _thing_ between us..." Blossom murmured after him and she fiddled with her hair absentmindedly.

"You can't possibly feel that there's nothing between us after all the time we spent together... You don't still see me as an enemy, do you?" Brick asked. Blossom shrugged, making him sigh a little. Brick walked forward to the counter as Blossom waited by the door. Brick knew what she liked so she left it to him to order. Awhile later, he walked towards her holding two cups of steaming hot vanilla latte.

"So, what's with this sudden coffee?" Brick asked as the two of them walked out and started walking down the street with no particular destination in mind. "I doubt that it's because you wanted to spend time with me after two months."

"I actually have something to tell you," Blossom admitted as she took a sip of her drink.

"I thought as much. Spill it, what's up?" he asked.

"Yeah, well… That depends… How good are you with kids?" she asked back.

Brick furrowed his brows and Blossom couldn't help but wonder if he had actually figured it out. He drank a little and let out a sigh. "Personally, I'd say kinda good… I mean, who do you think looked after Butch and Boomer when they were younger?" he laughed softly. Brick stopped and his eyes softened. "Like I'm anyone to talk… They looked after me as well… Especially since then…"

"They still look out for you, huh?"

Brick shrugged. "There're still risks of a relapse, you know."

"Okay… I have something to tell you and you've got to promise _not_ to freak out," Blossom said. Brick narrowed his eyes and nodded. Blossom took a deep breath. "I'm… Pregnant… And I'm pretty sure it's yours."

Brick's face remained as it was, showing no reaction towards the news. He dropped his keyboard on the ground, stopping it with his foot, and ran his hand through his hair. He fixed his eyes on the board, as if deep in thought. Blossom just stared at him as he pushed his board about with his foot. After awhile of silence, he looked up at her and smiled.

"I thought as much since you mention kids," he replied. "So what's the matter? We'll keep him… Or her."

"But Brick, we're only seventeen!" Blossom insisted. "I don't think we're ready to have a child!"

Brick narrowed his eyes and pulled out his phone. He fiddled with it for a moment before showing her a picture of a small baby, all bloodied and dead. "Do you want this to happen to him then?" he questioned bitterly.

"Of course not! I'm not going for an abortion!" Blossom gasped, horrified.

"Adoption then?" Brick suggested irritably. "Come on, no one is going to accept a child of a Rowdyruff. Plus, he's mine. I want to raise him. If you don't want to, I'll do it myself."

"You can't possibly do that all by yourself! He needs a mother!" Blossom insisted.

"You and I grew up fine without mothers," Brick pointed out. He stared at her hard for a moment and then sighed, closing his eyes. "I know you're scared, Blossom. I know you're trying to be logical and choose the best route for both us and the baby but sometimes, the best way isn't what will bring you the most happiness. Life isn't about succeeding, Blossom. It's about being happy."

"Yeah, sure…"

Brick rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. "Sure, I know that. Look, if I had succeeded in life, do you think I'll be happy now? Heck, I wont even be alive. It was because I didn't succeed in killing you that we became friends. It was because of that you spent so much time to make my last days happy. It was because of my failure in killing you that you managed to save my life… Push your education and Townsville aside, what do you really want? Don't you want your child?"

Blossom swallowed the rising lump in her throat. In her, there was a life growing, a life that came out of her and Brick, a life strengthening the bond between him and her for all eternity. Brick was right, partly, but her mind was right as well. Her education and her town was important. But the child was hers. Could she really be able to sleep at night after sending him for adoption, knowing that a part of her was being raised somewhere else by someone else? Would she be fine knowing that someone else would be watching her child grow, that her child would call someone else his parents?

"Of course I want him… I just don't know what to do… What should we do next?" Blossom whispered.

Brick remained silent, continuously sipping his drink until he finished it to the last drop. He dropped the cup beside his skateboard and sighed, sliding his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He looked at her hesitantly before he took a deep breath. Blossom watched, bemused, as he got on one knee, holding his hands out.

"I'm sorry… But I don't have a ring," he chuckled. "But for the sake of our child, Blossom, marry me… Marry me because I want our child to have a proper family. Marry me because…" He stopped, turning red as he looked away. "Because… Lately, I… I've kinda been in love with you."

Blossom gasped, dropping her coffee on the ground. She wasn't shocked by the proposal. It was one of the possible scenarios she had imagined in her head. Brick asking her to marry him for the child wasn't that big of a surprise. But what took her aback was the fact that he just confessed, and that he loved her.

But weren't they enemies?

"Actually, I've been loving you for quite sometime. I even filmed a video confessing all my feelings for you back then. I had passed it to Boomer. He was supposed to give it to you after I died… But thankfully, he didn't have to," Brick continued. "I didn't have the balls to tell you this when I was dying because I was afraid that you'll leave me and not see me anymore. I mean, you hate me… I know that you still doubt me and that you still think of me as a villain. So I kept quiet about how I felt.

"I also kinda doubted my feelings. I thought it was because of the cancer that I started falling for you… But it's two months into my recovery and I'm still dying everyday thinking about you, Blossom… I really wanted to go to you and come clean about my feelings. But you're busy. You have more important things than me. I'm a nobody after I gave up crime. I'm just some kid with superpowers, who doesn't know what to do with his life anymore."

Brick noticed the spilled coffee nearing his knee and he stood up. He turned away immediately and picked up his board. "You're silent… Why won't you be? I get it if you don't want to marry me… But I want our child, Bloss… Perhaps then, I'll have a reason to continue living…"

Blossom struggled to find her voice. "I don't…" She stopped. She didn't love Brick, did she? It's true that she rarely thought about Brick lately but it was because she was just too busy to think about stuff. But he was all that she thought about all summer. She had spent many sleepless nights taking care of him, and also crying at the thought of him dying. Was that really just friendship? Bubbles and Buttercup were friends with him as well but they slept fine. So what was it that made her go out her way and save the life of Brick? If she had let him died, wouldn't it have made her life easier?

Would it?

A life without Brick…

"I don't know…" she said softly. "I think I might love you but I don't know…"

Brick looked at her and smiled weakly. "It's okay… That's all I need… For now…"

They remained silent for awhile longer. "The child… Do you want a girl or boy?" Blossom asked. "I'd like a boy… A little boy that looks just you…"

"My doppelganger? Sounds good." Brick grinned.

"And… And, I'll marry you… I'll get the Professor to take me out of school… I can be homeschooled. I can still try out for my degree in a few years after that. As for crime fighting-"

"My brothers and I will help," Brick cut in. "You don't have to worry anymore."

"Everything will be okay, right?" Blossom whispered. Brick nodded. "Promise?"

Brick took her by the hands and pulled her close, pressing his lips against hers. The kiss was short and sweet, but it told her enough. She could trust him. He would be there for her through it all.

That was all she needed.

"Promise," he whispered against her lips.

* * *

><p><em>Yeah, you're right… That wasn't quite how it went. You see, I wasn't a lucky boy. Perhaps, this was how I had wanted it to go- for me to survive, to get married to the love of my life and to be there to watch my son grow. But reality was very much different. I died at seventeen. She didn't know my love for her until after I was gone. My son never knew his father and his father was never there to witness his coming into this very much fucked up, yet beautiful, world, to watch as he took his first steps, to hear his first words, to hold his hand and walk him to school on hi first day, to bring him to the park to play catch and just simply to exist in his life. All I can do is imagine. Imagine a life with them… <em>

_All I ask for, is a chance to let them know how much they mean to me… But that too, I don't know if it's possible. _

_Anyway, it's getting late. I hope you enjoyed this rather long, imagined tale of mine._

_Farewell._

* * *

><p><strong>Why did I do this? Man, I don't know either... But I hope you like it. :)<strong>

**I don't quite know if this can be classified as an alternate ending since Brick is narrating it after his death (or maybe in his final moments- I don't know, I leave it to you to decide) but considering at it creates, just for a moment, an alternative in that Brick did survive- no matter in reality or in his mind- I decided to make it as an alternate ending. **

**I thank you for all your support. No more tricks, this is the end. **

**Good night. **


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